![]() A smaller amount of IM7 fabric/8552 is used in 50 woven plies on the thick end of the flexbeam and 35 plies on the thin end. Accudyne discovered that most of its plies are cut from 48-inch/1.2m wide unidirectional tapes supplied by Hexcel (Stamford, Conn.), roughly 60 percent IM7 and 40 percent S-2 Glass, both using 8552 epoxy resin. Development of equipment and process steps to meet NAVAIR’s production requirements was preceded by an analysis of the flexbeam’s manual layup process. That decision was the result of a careful investigation. ![]() Further, it had developed a range of mechanized solutions for a wide variety of other operations, including preforming, robotic pick-and-place, ply consolidation and resin transfer molding (RTM), as well as noncomposites solutions to manufacturing and physics problems, such as a 75-ton “air crane” (lighter-than-air cargo transport), the world’s fastest lithium foil windup system for battery manufacture, and a six-station rotary cell that fabricates door windows. The company had previously developed part-specific automated tape laying (ATL) and automated fiber placement (AFP) machines (that is, optimized for a single part or series of similar parts) and complete manufacturing cells. Practically, Accudyne had the expertise and experience to provide the solution. Theoretically, automation could minimize these risks, given the consistency of programmed machines in combination with continuous inline inspection via computer-based vision systems. Improve quality by laying 737 plies with no errors.Accelerate production and cut labor cost by reducing cycle time from 40 to 10 hours per flexbeam.The structure, 64 inches long by 13.5 inches wide by 3 inches thick (1,626 mm by 343 mm by 76 mm), has a dogbone shape reminiscent of a tensile test specimen, but with a 9° twist along its axis. One of the enabling composite structures is the flexbeam, a flight-critical tail-rotor component that attaches the spar, upper skin and lower skin in each rotor blade to the rear horizontal shaft. The extended payload capacity will be partially enabled by composites that include 35-ft/10.7m long fourth-generation rotor blades and a new, hybrid metal-composite airframe, which the OEM, Sikorsky (Stratford, Conn.), claims is more than 75 percent composite. The operational goal is a three-fold increase in external load-carrying capacity, to more than 27,000 lb/12,247 kg over a mission range of 110 nautical miles/204 km. ![]() Marine Corps’ (USMC) CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter is designed to raise the maximum gross weight ceiling of the currently used CH-53E to 88,000 lb (39,916 kg) without increasing its basic size. Scheduled for first flight this year and entry into squadron service in 2019, the U.S. ![]()
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