The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University (WSU) selected Fiber Patch Placement (FPP) technology for their portfolio of future composites production technologies. By the end of 2021, Cevotec will install a SAMBA Pro Prepreg system at NIAR’s Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS).
Inside SAMBA Pro Prepreg. Image Credit: Cevotec.
Since its inception in 1985, the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University (WSU) become the United States’ premier aviation research institute. With nearly one million square feet of research and office space, NIAR provides research, design, testing, certification and training to the aerospace and manufacturing industries, FAA, Department of Defense and other government agencies.
NIAR will now expand its technology portfolio with a SAMBA Pro Prepreg system of Cevotec.
“We are happy to announce our agreement to install a SAMBA Pro system for ATLAS in 2021,” states Thorsten Groene, Managing Director of Cevotec. “Together with our U.S. partner Composite Automation, we are excited about this first FPP system in the United States and look forward to future R&D collaborations with NIAR.”
ATLAS Director Waruna Seneviratne believes integrating Fiber Patch Placement technology in the ATLAS portfolio will lead to pioneering projects.
“We are looking forward to receiving the SAMBA system and further advancing our portfolio of robotic-based placement technologies,” said Seneviratne. “The flexibility of Fiber Patch Placement will be of interest in particular for our R&D partners from the defense community.”
The SAMBA Pro system, which features an ultrasonic cutting unit and active material cooling, will be operational for application development with industrial customers by the end of 2021.
“Wichita is known for having the largest concentration of airframers in the world” said John Melilli, President of Composite Automation LCC. “NIAR’s ATLAS is the perfect place for the first U.S.-based FPP system, where it will be available to commercial as well as DOD clients to demonstrate the advantages of Fiber Patch Placement for the automated production of complex aerostructures.”
The new system at NIAR ATLAS will open multiple options for evaluation and development based on FPP technology, including material characterizations, application and process development, prototyping, and testing.