Accudyne Systems, Inc. designed, fabricated, installed, and operated a Boeing/Cincinnati in situ tape laydown head that succeeded in making flat skin/stringer, honeycomb, and TiGr laminates without an autoclave. The laydown head dispenses precise prepreg lengths, processes them at 400°C, and consolidates them under chilled compaction, all in the space of about one foot.

In an extended program with NASA, Accudyne developed the thermoplastic tape laydown head, that has three different feeder configurations. This process is entirely automated and position and length tolerances exceeded the stack and weld requirements. Further, the feeder preheats the incoming material and operates directly adjacent to the 400°C process zone.

Sponsors

• NASA
• Boeing
• Cytec

Conformable Compaction Head

In a NASA SBIR Phase I, Accudyne developed a concept for an innovative Conformable Compaction System (CCS). Using conventional heat sources our SBIR Phase II has been to fabricate, assemble, prove out, and offer for sale a usable CCS for out-of-autoclave fabrication. Once this technology is proven manufacturers will be able to fabricate complex geometry panels without an autoclave.

Accudyne Systems can fabricate prototypical thermoplastic in situ consolidated panels for test purposes. Contact John Melilli for details.