NASA launches high-speed composite aircraft manufacturing project using Toray carbon fiber and aerospace-grade thermoset prepregs

According to an article published on the NASA website on June 28, 2022, in order to find a way to rapidly develop a new sustainable aircraft, NASA plans to carry out the High Speed ​​Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) proje.

One of NASA's newest projects, the HiCAM project, which plans to use composite materials widely for next-generation aircraft, requires the creation of economical and rapid aircraft production facilities, said HiCAM program manager at NASA Langley Research Cent.

Over the next 20 years, the global commercial aviation fleet will need about 40,000 new aircraft to meet growing demand for air travel, while replacing older, older airliners, most of which will be used for single use Channel aircraft market operatio.

The current production rate for a single-aisle airliner made of metal structures like the Boeing 737 is about 60 per month, compared to the production rate of metal planes like the Airbus A220 or the larger Boeing 787 made of composite materia.

The goal of the HiCAM project is to speed up this production process to reach a production rate of 80 machines per month using composite materia.

NASA says productivity is limited by the time it takes to manufacture parts, assemble them to make large aircraft components, and check quality resul.

The whole process is a long process, up to 8 hou.

The HiCAM project team is also currently working with industry partners of the Advanced Composites Alliance to develop high-speed composite manufacturing process.

Toray Composite Materials America Inc (TCMA), a manufacturer of TORAYCA™ carbon fiber and aerospace-grade thermoset prepregs, is participating in three parts of the project at this stage, primarily responsible for supplying TORAYCA™ carbon fiber and aerospace-grade thermoset prepre.

In addition, TCMA provides process guidance for the material's use in automated fiber placement (AFP) process development, rapid curing, and resin infusion for wing/fuselage structur.

"We are proud to be part of ACC's efforts to reduce costs, improve performance, and increase single-aisle commercial aircraft delivery rates to keep America competitive in aircraft manufacturing," said Jeff Cross, TCMA's Director of Aerospace Business Developme.

Toray Advanced Composites (TAC), a manufacturer of multiple thermoset and thermoplastic composite technologies, was directly involved in four additional parts of the project, supplying a range of Cetex® thermoplastic UD prepreg tapes and other material inpu.

These materials include standard and intermediate modulus TORAYCA® carbon fiber reinforced state-of-the-art structural thermoplastic composites and are used in innovative part manufacturing and assembly process.