Hexcel está enfrentando uma pitada de produção de materiais compósitos como sua ascensão na demanda para o produto deverá continuar no ritmo atual. Leia mais abaixo para mais informações.
fornecedor de material compósitos Hexcel está à procura de maneiras de superar o que ele vê como um desafio de produção de capacidade de cerca de 2025 if the trend toward more composite materials in airframes continues on its current pace. Should next-generation narrow bodies consist of more than 50 percent carbon-fiber reinforced and other plastics, as in the most recent wide bodies from Boeing and Airbus, the industry will face daunting tasks in cutting manufacturing lead times and costs, said Paul Mackenzie, Hexcel’s v-p for research and technology, at the A-Star Aerospace Technology Leadership forum last month in Singapore.
"For a future narrowbody, the game changes," ele disse. The normal monthly production rate for a twin-aisle aircraft averages between 10 e 15. For a single-aisle, rates jump to between 40 e 60. As a consequence, the current hourly lay-down rate, às 20 para 30 libras, should increase to more than 200 libras, according to Mackenzie. The cure cycle would have to come down from 8 para 10 hours to 2 para 3 horas.
"Composite processing will not scale without further capital expenditures,” Mackenzie warned. Enquanto isso, the recurring cost of composite manufacturing remains twice as high as for metal.
The question of which technology—prepreg (pre-impregnated fibers) and direct resin infusion—will prevail remains unanswered, according to Mackenzie. For the former, lay-down and de-bulking times must come down. He rules out an out-of-autoclave process because porosity of the resulting part would prove too high. For direct resin infusion, cycle time remains an issue.
Este artigo afixado original a Ainonline.com.