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Process Solutions
Custom Tool Solution Helps Launch Satellite Program
Faced with aggressive deadlines to deliver specialized satellite parts, San Diego’s Vanguard Composites Group started a search. They needed to reduce the time required to machine thick composite sandwich panels before assembly. The large flat panels, made in a variety of measured thicknesses, serve as support structures for satellite antenna reflectors. Vanguard is one of […]
Latest Posts
Custom Tools Achieve F-35 Stealth Characteristics While Lowering Assembly and Operating Cost
Manufacture of the stealthy Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II has two important precision machining activities: (1) edge routing of the wing skins and forward fuselage panels and (2) drilling of holes in the machined parts to assemble the wings and forward fuselage. All external structural surfaces are made of carbon-epoxy (one of many CFRPs) with […]
The Composite Cutting Tool Challenge
The largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, an emerging fabricator, and a family-operated machine shop all have one thing in common, they must carefully choose the best cutting tool for their next job. Increasingly, those jobs involve work on composites, complex man-made materials that typically combine carbon fibers and diverse lightweight materials to produce maximum […]
Tool Type and Geometries
Hole ambitions? Optimize! Customize!
Matching the drill tool to the job can save thousands of man-hours and millions of dollars. For six decades, “you get what you pay for” has been the marketing mantra for manufacturers and suppliers of composite products who argue that, despite their historically high initial cost, composites are the superior product in terms of overall […]
Cutting Tools for Composites
Machining composites presents unique challenges compared to metals. Reinforcement fibers are abrasive, shortening tool life. The plastic matrix carries away little heat, unlike metal chips, and overheating can melt the matrix. Composites can delaminate, and burrs and fibers show on poorly drilled holes or poorly trimmed edges. Other challenges include machining or drilling laminate stacks […]
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