SAMPE Journal - May/June 2021 - 50

NEWS / INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS

UCF Joins Project to Develop Composites for
Spacecraft, NASA Missions
The University of Central Florida is working with software company AnalySwift
and Purdue University to help develop thin-ply composites for space missions
and more through a recently funded NASA Small Business Technology Transfer
program.
The thin-ply composites materials are as thin as carpenter's measuring tape
but strong enough to support satellite payloads, such as solar sails for solarpowered space travel or serve as supports for large spacecraft.
And like measuring tape, thin-ply composite structures can be rolled up,
compacted and stored for long periods until they are needed to be deployed.
UCF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering assistant
professor Kawai Kwok is leading research to characterize and model the
performance of the thin-ply composites and polymers under repeated use and
long, compressed storage periods in space.
This work is needed because validated and reliable characterization and
modeling methods that consider extreme conditions and past loading histories
are often needed to circumvent any uncertainties in performance of the final
design that could slow down technology development and delivery.
Technology developed through these efforts could be applied to booms,
sails, panels, reflectors and more for satellites, as well as to lightweight
structures for landers, rovers, and solar arrays for NASA missions.
www.analyswift.com
Specialty Materials, Inc. (SMI) is proud to announce that we have launched a new Company website. Among the things you can learn about our company (the 2020 National Subcontractor of the Year):
	 *	 Why Boron Fiber was once cited as " The Greatest Single Advance in Materials in the 		
		Last 3000 Years "
	 * 	 Why Boron Fiber is still relevant (A Composites World webinar)
	 * 	 How our newest product (Gen 2 Hy-Bor®) can solve your compression 			
		strength problems
	 * 	 Services we can provide to help your business
	 * 	 Case studies involving
			 -Aircraft 	 -Space 	 -Sporting Goods
www.specmaterials.com

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May June 2021 Journal.indd 50

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Composites One, the leading North American supplier of composites materials & value
added services, has completed its purchase of
the Process Materials business from the Solvay Composites Materials Global Business. The acquisition is a unique opportunity
for the company to add international manufacturing & sales capabilities in specialized
materials used in a variety of vacuum-assisted composite manufacturing processes.
The acquired business has been rebranded as Aerovac and is a major manufacturer,
developer and supplier of process materials,
tooling and services used in prepreg processing, vacuum infusion, glass lamination,
and other industrial applications.
The Aerovac line is comprised of an extensive array of vacuum bagging materials,
from bagging films, breather fabrics, release
films and fabrics, to peel plies, sealant tapes,
valves and hoses. Also available are tailored
process materials kits & hard and soft tooling.
www.compositesone.com
Mikrosam has completed the installation of
its latest custom-made prepreg tape slitting
and tow-rewinding machine at the National
Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR)
at Wichita State University.
NIAR selected Composite Automation and Mikrosam to deliver a single-step
slitting unit to facilitate its need to perform
research on variety of composite prepregs
in the Advanced Technologies Laboratory
for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS). ATLAS is a
multi-disciplinary manufacturing environment aimed at preparing engineers for the
Factory of the Future and aiding industry
with advanced material research with automated manufacturing technologies.
The prepreg slitting equipment from
Mikrosam is a single-step process for slitting
of unidirectional thermoset and thermoplastic prepreg tapes and rewinding them
on multiple station traverse winders. The
equipment is dedicated to slit prepreg tape
from maximum width of 24.5 " (600mm)
down to 0.25 " - 0.5 " (6.35mm - 12.7mm) and
then rewind on a spool that can be used for
automated fiber placement (AFP). It can also
be used for slitting down to 3 " - 6 " (75mm -
150mm) wide tapes on a spool that can be
directly used on automated tape laying (ATL)
processes.
www.mikrosam.com

M AY/J U N E 2 0 2 1

4/8/2021 12:32:54 PM
http://www.compositesone.com http://www.analyswift.com http://www.mikrosam.com http://www.specmaterials.com
SAMPE Journal - May/June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAMPE Journal - May/June 2021
