Jim Martin:
Ideally, the composites manufacturing process R&D and production
scale-up work we do in the Globe, Tacoma, composites lab is directed by customer-driven
and application-driven sources. We pay
attention to industry trends and emerging technology needs of course, but ideally,
we are working toward solving specific challenges that will ultimately aid our
customers directly or an industry as a whole.
Sometimes however, we find ourselves seeking problems that just aren’t
well identified by OEMs or tier suppliers.
A new material and process combination may be needed to break the
composites adoption log-jam by addressing past failures, changing economics,
and improved part properties. In these cases,
we look to our material-supplier partners to provide some direction. Trends toward faster cure cycles, improved
surface quality, and qualification of new fiber-matrix combinations require
optimized lamination, cure and consolidation processes. This newly packaged M&P may be presented
to OEMs and tier suppliers (aerospace, automotive, and industrial) as a
potential solution to some or all of the road-blocks set in place by incumbent
M&P combination. While solving
specific problems is an ideal approach, the absence of that luxury dictates a
pre-emptive strategy of bringing a M&P solution to the table to get the
conversation started.
Globe would like to learn about your ideal composite
material and process combination to consider how our high-volume CFRT tape
lamination/consolidation technology and highly configurable RapidClave®
cure and consolidation technology could assist you toward reaching your
composite manufacturing goals.
Jim Martin and Dan Allman will be at CAMX Orlando, FL on December
11-14 https://www.thecamx.org/. Call or email them to set up a meeting.