High-Performance Composites is read by qualified composites industry professionals in the fields of continuous carbon fiber and other high-performance composites as well as the associated end-markets of aerospace, military, and automotive.
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6 4 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S FEATURE / PLANT TOUR Read this article online at short. compositesworld.com/VXAero. For a primer on how C-PLY works, see "Bi-angle fabrics fnd frst commercial application," HPC January 2013 (p. 46) or visit short.compositesworld.com/8937KYrm. THE POWER OF PEEL PLY 1-888-PEEL-PLY (733-5759) | Fax 336-510-8003 | precisionfabrics.com Precision Fabrics is an ISO 9001 certified company It takes both imagination and engineering to achieve fl ight. Today, aircraft manufacturers trust Precision Fabrics Group to help them think beyond existing material and processing limits. Working together, we can help you develop products for your specifi c applications. For more information about PFG Peel Ply that meets aerospace specifi cations, call John Houston at 1-888-PEEL-PLY, or contact one of our distributors. Technology Marketing, Inc. 801-265-0111, UT Gregory Young Sales & Service, Inc. 903-878-7291, TX Cytec Process Materials 562-906-3300, CA 44-1274-550-500, UK 33-5-6137-7791, FR 39-039-6892987, IT Northern Composites 603-926-1910, NH Flugzeug Union SUD 49-896-072-5393, Germany L E A R N M O R E @ w w w. c o m p o s i t e s w o r l d . c o m He adds that C-PLY speeds the layup, with two plies applied at once, and re- sults in laminates with a more homo- geneous fber distribution throughout, which increases fracture toughness com- pared to conventional unidirectional materials. Tooling for the 1:4 scale aircraft was directly CNC-machined from plastic tool- ing board because it is temporary and, therefore, can be designed for short life and low cost. Layup of the 1:4 scale air- craft structures used six layers (12 plies total) of C-PLY, again with a 150-g/m 2 weight and 0.006-inch thickness per two- ply layer (left photo, p. 59). Parts were then infused (right photo, p. 59) using PTM&W;'s 2712 epoxy resin. Demolded parts were then assembled. First, ribs were bonded to the bottom skin; then the top skin — which includes openings for payload access — was bonded to this as- sembly (see photos, p. 61). The payload access cover was then attached with me- chanical fasteners. The frst fnished airframe (see p. 56) was displayed by Chomarat at JEC 2014 (March 11-13, Paris, France). A second 1:4 scale aircraft, assembled in March, was delivered to NCSU for fight testing. Skillen anticipates full-scale aircraft production will likely use C-PLY pre- pregged with Cytec's Cycom MTM45-1 OOA prepreg resin. However, the fnal decision, prepreg vs. infusion, will be made based on the customer's produc- tion volume. (Several potential custom- ers, are awaiting fight test results before making commitments.) Parts can be layed up quickly using C-PLY. Skillen estimates the VX-1 KittyHawk will use 6,000 ft 2 /557m 2 of C-PLY per plane. "We could design and make this aircraft with traditional carbon fber roll goods," Skillen admits, "but the effcien- cy and performance C-PLY delivers gives a small company like us a real competi- tive advantage." 0514HPC IM PlantTour-OK.indd 64 4/22/2014 4:01:40 PM