WICHITA, Kan., June 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Spirit
AeroSystems [NYSE: SPR] today announced it has been working with
Spintech Ventures, of Xenia, Ohio,
to develop a new reconfigurable tooling technology for
manufacturing complex composite aircraft structures. The solution
uses re-formable, reusable mandrels to form complex, highly
integrated composite structures, with features that are not
possible with traditional tools.
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In 2005, Spirit AeroSystems began collaboration with Cornerstone
Research Group Inc. (CRG) and CRG's affiliate company, Spintech
Ventures LLC, to refine and scale-up the technology. Spintech is
now offering the technology under the trade name Smart
ToolingTM. Spirit's version of the technology, which
includes enhancements to enable large, integrated, single-sided
reinforced structures, is known as InflexionTM.
"The degree of integration of composite structural components
has been limited to date by current tooling methods," said
Bill Smith, acting director of
technology development at Spirit. "InflexionTM breaks
through this barrier by providing tooling that can change states
through the layup and cure phases, allowing for extraction of the
tool in spite of trapping features which would hinder current
tooling methods. This enables, for example, the full integration of
skins, stringers, and frames or ribs in one step."
Spintech Ventures was founded in October
2010 to commercialize exclusively licensed shape memory
polymer technologies, including Smart ToolingTM, which
had been developed by CRG.
"Smart Tooling'sTM patented technology allows
composite manufacturers to significantly reduce some combination of
labor, material, and capital cost, while significantly increasing
production through-put in the production of composite parts with
trapped features and/or complex shapes," said Craig Jennings, president of Spintech
Ventures.
On the web: www.spiritaero.com
On Twitter: @SpiritAero
About Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.
Spirit AeroSystems, with headquarters in Wichita, Kan., USA, is one of the world's
largest non-OEM designers and manufacturers of aerostructures for
commercial aircraft. In addition to its Wichita and Chanute facilities in Kansas, Spirit has locations in Tulsa and McAlester,
Okla.; Kinston, N.C.;
Nashville, Tenn.; Prestwick,
Scotland; Preston, England; Subang, Malaysia; and Saint-Nazaire, France. In the U.S., Spirit's core products
include fuselages, pylons, nacelles and wing components.
Additionally, Spirit provides aftermarket customer support
services, including spare parts, maintenance/repair/overhaul, and
fleet support services in North
America, Europe and
Asia. Spirit Europe produces wing components for a host of
customers, including Airbus.
SOURCE Spirit AeroSystems