Objective
A MAJOR ADVANTAGE OF USING COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR PRECISION TOOLING AND FOR STRUCTURES SUCH AS AIRCRAFT, IS THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE COMPLEX SHAPES. UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE THE REQUIRED ACCURACY FIRST TIME SINCE DURING THE CURE AND POST CURE OF COMPOSITES, DIMENSIONAL CHANGES OCCUR WHICH LEAD TO ERRORS. THIS OFTEN ENTAILS NEW TOOLING AND SEVERAL RE MAKE ATTEMPTS BEFORE SATISFACTORY PARTS ARE PRODUCED. THIS COSTS THE INDUSTRY A GREAT DEAL AND EXTENDS THE TIME TO MARKET BY MANY MONTHS. THE PROJECT: IT IS PROPOSED TO CARRY OUT A PROJECT TO OBTAIN A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHENOMENA AFFECTING COMPLEX 3D COMPOSITES MOULDING DISTORTION AND TO DEVELOP A KN OWLEDGE BASED TOOL CORRECTION PREDICTIVE SOFTWARE DATA BASE. AS A FIRST STEP, ACG LTD WHO HAVE BEEN AT THE HUB OF PRECISION COMPOSITES DESIGN AND APPLICATION FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS, PROPOSE TO CARRY OUT AN EXPLORATORY STUDY TO IDENTIFY THE MARKET POTENTIAL FOR A HIGH PRECISION MOULDING PREDICTIVE SOFTWARE SYSTEM, CLARIFY THE PATENT/COPY RIGHT SITUATION AND TO DEFINE A DETAILED RTD PROPOSAL TO PUT THE MATTER ON A SOUND SCIENTIFIC BASIS. AS A SECOND STEP, A SIMPLE DEMONSTRATOR WILL BE DEVELOPED BASED ON EXISTING COMPANY DATA, AND A 2D FINITE ELEMENT MODEL. AN INVAR MALE TOOL WILL BE USED TO SHOW THE 'SPRING BACK' DISTORTION FROM A 'DRAWING SIZE' TOOL AND AN ACCURATE MOULDING FROM A PREDICTIVELY CORRECTED TOOLS
Funding Scheme
EAW - Exploratory awardsCoordinator
DE75 7SP Heanor - Derbyshire
United Kingdom