Composites Manufacturing Comes Of Age

摘要

GKN Aerospace has seen automation bring major improvements to composites production. Five years ago, the company began to introduce automation into its composites' manufacturing processes, initially replacing traditional hand lay-up. The potential economic viability was soon realized and deposition rates rapidly increased.rnThe advent of production of the Airbus A400M wing spar in late 2006 at the company's Advanced Composites Facility on the Isle of Wight in the U.K. brought with it the opportunity to further enhance its automation capability with the introduction of automated tape lay-up (ATL).