CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/442058
JANUARY 2015 42 CompositesWorld PLANT TOUR in this arena, a real competitive advantage. Te frst is the aptly named Material Preparation Machine (MPM), a continuous process that does just that. Te machine accepts up to 600m long rolls of 600-mm wide unidirectional (UD) HexPly carbon fber prepreg tape supplied by Hexcel (Stamford, CT, US), unrolls it, and passes the prepreg through a proprietary cutting system. Te cutter yields fags — the term for job-speci- fed lengths — of prepreg at biases of 90°, 0°, +45° and -45°. Te system then re-orients each fag to a pre-programmed angle, puts it back in line with other fags, and re-spools the re-oriented material (see drawing at left). Te material is then slit and re-spooled to one of several widths used at the plant. Te new prepreg roll comprises a series of UD fags oriented at a variety of angles that meet specifc load requirements of partic- ular stringers and frames (see Table 1, p. 41). After it leaves the MPM, each roll is delivered to a cleanroom in the Clearfeld plant called the Aircraft Commercial Center of Excellence (ACCE), where it is loaded onto one of fve Auto- mated Stifener Forming Machines (ASFM) — ASFM-L0401, ASFM-L0402, ASFM-L0501, ASFM- R0201 and ASFM-R0202. Machines designated with an "-L" are used to manufacture linear parts such as stringers. Machines designated with a "-R" are radial machines that manufacture frames. With this second in-house technology, ATK has fully automated stringer and frame manufacture. Te principle of ASFM operation is relatively simple yet the machine is fast: A male mold, for a C-, Z-, or I-beam or hat cross- section, is passed under a series of fxed-loca- tion compaction heads, which push the MPM'd material onto the tool surface, conforming it to the wide variety of shapes, angles and dimensions presented by stringer molds. ASFM-L0401 and ASFM-L0402 each have four heads to provide scrub, side, radius and fange compaction operations (see illustra- tion, on this page). Automating Material Preparation and Stiffener Formation ATK's Material Preparation Machine (MPM) passes prepreg through a proprietary cutting system that yields fags (job-specifed lengths) of prepreg at 90°, 0°, +45° and -45° (see drawing), and then re-spools the re-oriented material. ATK's Automated Stifener Forming Machines (see drawing) then upspool that MPM'd material and passes a male mold under a series of fxed- location compaction heads, which conform the material to the mold surface. ASFM Yield ATK's in-house- developed Automated Stifener Forming Machines (bottom photo) quickly, efciently and precisely turn out racks of highly diferentiated fuselage stringers for the Airbus A350-900 and A350-1000 (top photo) and fuselage frames for both the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787. One shipset of stringers and frames for the A350-900 includes 698 part numbers — 900 parts in total. ATK makes all of the stringers and 60% of the frames for the A350-900. Source | CW / Photos | Jef Sloan MPM 2 Taper Flag Fiber Orientation MPM 1 #2 Scrub ASFM Forming Head Male Mold ASFM Supply Head #3 Slice Supply Redirect #4 Radius #5 Flange Squeegee Carrier Takeup Source / CW Source / CW Source / ATK