SAMPE Journal - March/April 2016 - 56

industry news
Technical Fibre Products (TFP) fine glass veil was supplied to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and can be found in the high
temperature insulation patch on the satellite's Advanced Microwave Radiometer. TFP's glass veil is used as the internal separation layers
within the insulation patch, an essential part of the thermal management of the satellite. Orbital maneuvers can temporarily align the
sun near the axis of the parabolic reflector of the radiometer. Concentrated sunlight then heats small areas of insulation. Conventional
insulation cannot withstand this heating. The high temperature insulation patch, containing TFP's veil, withstands this heating and
protects the vulnerable, conventional multi-layer insulation from overheating.
The Advanced Microwave Radiometer is part of the Jason-3 mission. It is the result of a collaboration between NASA, NOAA, CNES and
Eumetsat and represents the latest in a series of satellites dedicated to measuring the global sea surface height. The satellite will make
detailed sea-level measurements with a view to gaining greater insight into ocean circulation as well as climate change. The material
used on Jason-3 is just one of a broad range of advanced nonwovens developed and manufactured by TFP. This range encompasses
carbon, aramid, glass, thermoplastic and metal coated nonwovens as well as nonwovens created using more specialty fibers such as
quartz, silicon carbide and pure metals.
www.tfpglobal.com
Providing fully automated inspection for the first time in high-performance composites
manufacturing, Assembly Guidance Systems has shipped its first four LASERVISION
units to automated fiber placement (AFP) manufacturer Electroimpact, Inc. "We are fully
integrating LASERVISION into our AFP machine cell," notes Electroimpact engineer Todd
Rudberg, "so that our customers can ensure alignment, place courses, and inspect their
work all from a single operator interface." LASERVISION is integrated into the cell using
information directly from part design data, enabled by Assembly Guidance's software
development kit (SDK).
When inspecting, LASERVISION automatically projects the centerline or boundary of the
course to be inspected. The system then instantly captures images with calibrated laser
references via a high-magnification camera. These images detail even small complex
regions, and they are enhanced before electronic delivery to automated image analysis
algorithms. Finally, they are automatically incorporated into part-specific documentation.
"With these capabilities, LASERVISION eliminates the wait time for inspection and the
challenges of access and lighting; and adds physical evidence that the build sufficiently
matches the design," notes Matt Zmijewski, Assembly Guidance Chief Operating Officer.
The integration also improves alignment accuracy by a factor of five, Rudberg reports. "By
having the laser system integrated, the locations of the AFP machine, mandrel, and laser
system are all precisely known relative to a common coordinate system, which results in
considerably reduced discrepancy in projections and actual ply boundaries."
lb@assemblyguide.com

Solvay has signed an exclusive distribution agreement between its Composite Materials
Global Business Unit and Bang & Bonsomer Group. The agreement
covers Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Finland for all Process Materials
products, starting January 1st, 2016.
The Process Materials product portfolio supports the end-to-end
manufacturing of composite parts and includes an extensive portfolio of
vacuum bagging consumables, pre-manufactured kitting solutions and
tooling products. It provides advanced composites process materials
for aerospace, automotive, wind energy, motorsport, marine, mass
transportation and other demanding applications.
Claire.michel@cytec.com

Hexcel Corporation will expand its global engineered core capacity by building a
117,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Casablanca, Morocco. The new facility is part
of Hexcel's ongoing worldwide investment to create a diversified and robust global supply
chain to support aerospace customers' growing demand for engineered core. Engineered
core is formed and machined honeycomb material used for light weighting in structural
applications such as aircraft secondary structures, nacelles, and helicopter blades. In
recent years, Hexcel has increased its capacity at existing plants to support its current
engineered core business and plans further expansions to capture additional opportunities in a global market with excellent growth potential. The new Moroccan plant will be
built at the MidParc Free Trade Zone (FTZ) Industrial Park, located close to Morocco's
Mohammed V airport and near several Hexcel customers. Construction on the $20 million
project begins in the spring, and the plant is expected to be fully operational by mid-2017.
By 2020, it is expected to employ more than 200 people.
Hexcel Corporation develops, manufactures and markets lightweight, high-performance
structural materials, including carbon fibers, reinforcements, prepregs, honeycomb, matrix
systems, adhesives and composite structures, used in commercial aerospace, space and
defense and industrial applications such as wind turbine blades.
www.hexcel.com
56

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)
recently awarded a contract to Flightware
Inc. to develop a real time, automated
inspection system for use with Automated
Fiber Placement (AFP) equipment
that makes large composite parts. This
capability allows these machines to operate
significantly faster with higher throughput
and productivity. This provides part cost
saving, reduced capital expenditure,
improves production rate and improves
the return on investment for composite
manufacturing automation.
https://youtu.be/Wqxl8LksX60

Kaman Aerosystems (Kaman) UK facility
has been successful in securing a further
five year contract extension on the Airbus
A330 Long Range program for the supply of
the Upper and Lower Wing panels to Spirit
AeroSystems Europe. This now takes the
A330 Long Range program deliveries out
to end of 2020. This is a major achievement
which also ensures Kaman engagement on
the A330NEO (New Engine Option) as part
of this award. The contract award is effective
through December 2020. This program
calls for the manufacture and supply of
30 individual carbon fiber wing panels of
honeycomb core sandwich construction
per aircraft set. The A330 NEO aircraft
variant, introduces 14 new alternative
panels as part of this contract award. These
new panels are very similar construction
to the current program but have a subtly
different aerodynamic form, which will
result in Kaman Tooling UK designing and
manufacturing new tooling to support the
program.
www.kaman.com

Dallas, TX-Celanese Corporation, a
global technology and specialty materials
company, will increase list and off-list
selling prices for Ethyl Acetate as previously
communicated to customers. The price
increase became effective January 1, 2016,
or as contracts allow.
USA and Canada
Product
USD/LB
Ethyl Acetate
$0.05
www.celanese.com
SAMPE Journal, Volume 52, No. 2, March/April 2016

http://www.tfpglobal.com https://youtu.be/Wqxl8LksX60 http://www.kaman.com http://www.hexcel.com https://www.celanese.com/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAMPE Journal - March/April 2016