Nov. 19, 2018
IACMI – The Composites Institute, in partnership with Composites One, and the Closed Mold Alliance hosted Composite$ Innovation$, a Closed Mold Alliance hands-on composites training workshop, at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) Nov. 14 – 15, 2018. This event welcomed more than 150 attendees, representing both small and medium businesses, as well as large companies, from industries spanning from aerospace and military composites application to prosthetics, vehicles, marine and commercial aviation. UDRI serves as a core partner for IACMI – The Composites Institute. Brian Rice, IACMI’s UDRI-based technology area director, has received national
Globe Machine RapidClave is an enabling technology that can help to meet automotive and aerospace industry goals to speed up manufacturing time, increasing cost savings and cycle efficiency.
attention for recent research and development work with Dupont and other partners.
The focus of Composite$ Innovation$ was to introduce attendees to composites manufacturing processes and technologies that are already in place in industries such as in the automotive sector, and that can be adapted to new industries – such as aerospace – to drive down the manufacturing cost. Attendees participated in hands-on demonstrations of manufacturing processes such as injection overmolding and lay stitching, and discussed manufacturing processes such as overbraiding and rapidclave.
Glenn Richardson, Managing Director Aerospace & Manufacturing at JobsOhio kicked off the workshop by discussing the impact of advanced manufacturing and the aerospace industry in Ohio. The Buckeye State is home to more than 14,000 manufacturing businesses, and the manufacturing industry employs more than 600,000 workers in the state. This employment level makes Ohio not only the third largest manufacturing workforce in the U.S., but also the #1 supplier state to Airbus and Boeing.
Craig Neslen, manufacturing engineer with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) ManTech, also discussed the current composite processes and future efficiency goals that AFRL is reaching to reduce the cost and decrease the time-to-market for some of the Air Force’s aircraft, including the Low Cost Attritable Aircraft (LCAAT). AFRL continues to research and drive innovative projects in additive tooling, automation, and out-of-autoclave processes – leveraging technology and equipment currently used in the automotive industry and creating new applications for the processes in aerospace.
“Composite$ Innovation$ allowed us to engage with composites engineers and technicians throughout Ohio and the surrounding states to showcase some of the innovative processes and opportunities for composites in many markets,” said Joannie Harmon Heath, IACMI’s Workforce Manager.
Composite$ Innovation$ is the 12th workshop of its type IACMI has co-led in partnership with Composites One and the Closed Mold Alliance In 2019 workshop organizers look forward to welcoming participants to New York, South Carolina, Colorado, and Utah to continue the mission of training the composites workforce.