JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #72 - April/May 2012 - 74

JCM 73 June: Special Feature JEC Asia

Shanghai Aircraft invests in a composite tape layer
Charger™ low-rail gantry contour tape layer to produce main wings, stabilizers and central wing boxes for Comac Shanghai Aircraft C919 and C929 commercial passenger jets.

AG is expanding its presence in the Chinese aerospace industry with the sale of the first composite processing system from a U.S. company. The new Charger™ low-rail gantry contour tape layer, to be installed in Shanghai, will produce wings, horizontal stabilizers and central wing boxes for COMAC’s C919 and C929 commercial passenger jets, slated to enter service in 2016. According to Chip Storie, MAG Executive Vice President Aerospace, «This sale of the first U.S.-made automated tape layer for the Chinese market builds on our successes in China’s growing aerospace industry. Shanghai Aircraft already has dozens of MAG machine tools in production in its manufacturing operation. This further solidifies MAG as the premier supplier of advanced manufacturing equipment for commercial aerospace production in China.»

COMAC Pudong composite facility
Shanghai Aircraft is the main production facility of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). The tape layer will be installed in the new COMAC Pudong composite facility. The Charger™ tape layer

deposits composite tape at industry-leading speeds, while achieving aerospace-grade placement accuracies on complex contours. Charger Series machines lay 75, 150 or 300 mm carbon/epoxy tape with any orientation and number of plies, over tool surfaces with contours, flats and changing geometries, producing consistent quality, part shape, thickness and strength. MAG-designed controls and software make the tape layer’s multi-axis movements easy to program and control. The powerful ACES® programming software translates CAD or CATIA tooling and laminate data into multi-axis machine commands. MAG has sold

more than 90 licenses of this proprietary software throughout the world. The low-rail gantry platform is designed with high structural stiffness for reliability and fast, accurate lay-up. The next-generation re-engineered contour tape head contributes to higher throughput with faster, simpler side loading of tape rolls up to 300 mm wide and 650 mm in diameter. The new head also features integrated ultrasonic laminate cutting, cutter depth-setting assistance and dockable inkjet marking for maximum system flexibility and performance.

More than 130 systems sold
MAG composite processing systems are the most widely used equipment throughout the worldwide aerospace industry, with more than 130 systems sold. In addition to the Shanghai Aircraft programs, MAG tape layers and fibre placement systems are used to produce a wide range of components for numerous aircraft programmes, including the Airbus A350-XWB and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. n

MAG’s Charger™ tape layer deposits composite tape at industry-leading speeds, while achieving aerospace-grade placement accuracies on complex contours.

More information: www.mag-ias.com

More information ...

COMAC Pudong composite facility This meeting fully affirmed the achievements made on the C919 aircraft project since the formation of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. The central government’s major strategic decision has been

resolutely implemented, targeting world-class quality to strive to build China’s own civil aircraft brand, promote the construction of an innovative Chinese civil aircraft industry, and nurture the key talents in the project. In 2012, the C919 aircraft project development will focus on high standards, strengthened

project management, systems engineering, improved technical integration capabilities, enhanced quality, airworthiness, cost-awareness, enhanced R&D, assembly manufacturing, customer service, marketing, airworthiness certification, supplier management, and core competencies. Other goals include continuing to acti-

vely explore the “main-manufacturer – supplier” mode, forming a relatively complete industrial chain of civil aircraft design integration, as well as improving assembly manufacturing, customer service, aviation operations, financial leasing, maintenance, modification, and subcontracted production.

74 jec composites magazine / No72 April - May 2012

http://www.mag-ias.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #72 - April/May 2012

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