WICHITA,
Kan., June 17, 2013 /CNW/ - 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