CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/450689
FEBRUARY 2015 28 CompositesWorld Exelis Aerostructures: Salt Lake City, Utah Braided composite shafts and struts for aircraft are its specialty, but there's much more to this Utah, US-based rising star. » A composites manufacturer that supplies parts to the aerospace industry must have, at the least, basic competencies in prepreg- based fabrication processes, including hand layup, automated fber placement (AFP), automated tape laying (ATL) and autoclave- based cure. A number of composites industry players meet this requirement. But given the great diversity of fber types and fber reinforcement forms, resin systems, tooling types and materials and processing technologies available today, and several decades of composites development and application in aircraft of all types, almost every composites supplier of signifcant size and impact has developed a specialty — an area of expertise that has fueled and sustained the company's growth. Such is the case with Exelis Aerostructures. Based in Salt Lake City, UT, US, the company easily qualifes on the basics. AS9100C-, ISO14001-, Nadcap-, and Boeing Composite-certifed, Exelis excels not only in the autoclaved prepreg arena, but has well-developed expertise in flament winding, resin transfer molding (RTM) and vacuum-assisted RTM (VARTM) as well. Tat said, Exelis is a standout in the aerospace composites supply chain, today, in large part due to its rich history in carbon fber braiding, which has helped set this fabricator apart from its competitors. Same game, new name, growing fame Although the company's Salt Lake City operations were established decades ago, the Exelis name itself is relatively new, introduced By Jef Sloan / Editor-in-Chief