Dowty Flying High With Composite Innovations

Engineers from the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) have ‘pushed the boundaries of the possible’ for composite manufacturing as part of an ambitious £20m project to develop next-generation propeller blades for cleaner, cheaper air travel. The AMRC, part of the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult network of research centers, supported private sector partner Dowty Propellers for the Digital Propulsion (DigiProp) research and development programme, which sought to innovate every aspect of the design, manufacture and testing of its propeller systems. The impressive advances made by the AMRC Composites Centre include the scaling-up of triaxial braiding for complex geometry structures, development of an automated foam thermoforming process as an alternative to casting or machining, and successful use of robotic ultrasonic trimming for carbon fibre preforms. For identifying Growth Opportunities for Composite Market please visit https://www.lucintel.com/composites-market.aspx