JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #102 - January/February 2016 - 5

the composite industry contribute to this trend?

D. C. : The recent innovations we're leveraging in
our composite business are
related to automation and
multifunctional composite
materials. In addition, we've
been developing low-cost
tooling that makes use of additive manufacturing.
JCM: The defence industry
is currently a heavy user of
UAVs. What do you think the
future for commercial applications for these aircraft might
be? Do you see the consumer
UAV industry growing in the
coming years?

D. C. : UAV consumers
have already expanded beyond the hobby market. The
applications for consumer
drones are countless and
will undoubtedly continue to grow. The Federal
Aviation Administration has
been anticipating this surge
in consumer drones and
recently announced a rule
requiring the registration of
small UAVs as a first step in
ensuring the safe integration
of drones into the national
airspace system.
JCM: You latest drone model,
created in partnership with

Stratasys, was exhibited at
the 2015 Dubai Airshow and
is breaking all sorts of records (production rate, speed
of flight, complexity of the
onboard systems, etc.). What
makes this aircraft "the most
complex drone of its type"?

D. C. : There are many elements that make this drone
so unique. For one, the 3D
printed fuel tank conforms
to the aircraft's outer shape
and wraps around the
turbine engine. This means
that the engine is mounted
inside the fuel tank. Additionally, the 3D printed
thrust vectoring mechanism
provides yaw and pitch control to the UAV.
JCM: How did Aurora Flight
Sciences and Stratasys
contribute to the project in
terms of skills, resources,
etc.?

D. C. : Aurora defined the

aircraft shape and spec'd
all the commercial off-theshelf components and their
locations on the aircraft. Additionally, Aurora conducted
structural analyses on the
aircraft and designed the internal structure of the wing
and winglets.
Our partner Stratasys de-

Its jet engine and lightweight build enables the drone to reach speeds of up to
150 mph, making it the fastest 3D-printed UAV in the world

signed the internal structure
of the fuselage and worked
with Aurora on assembling
and flying the aircraft.
JCM: What were the skills
and resources that enabled
you to take up this challenge? In what way were
composite materials critical
to the project?

D. C. : We refer to the UAV
as a hybrid structure: part
carbon-fiber and part 3D
printed polymers. We used
composite material (waterjet cut carbon fiber plates)
to form the aircraft's spars.
With an aircraft this fast, it's
critical to have stiff wings
to prevent flutter. Because
of this, continuous carbon
fibers were required.
JCM: Would designing and
producing this type of UAV
from A to Z have been possible without this partnership?
Have you entered into other
partnerships, including with
composite material suppliers?

The additive manufacturing process sliced design and build time in half

D. C. : Stratasys is an agile,

No102 January - February 2016 /

innovative company. It's
because of this that our two
companies have been working together closely over the
last four years on various
aerospace development
programs.
JCM: What are your expectations with respect to future
composite materials? What
role will they play in the
future aerospace industry?

D. C. : My dream technology is additive manufacturing
with continuous filament
composite materials. We're
already seeing research and
development in this area.
Hopefully, in another two
to three years we'll be flying aircraft structures that
incorporate this technology. At the same time, we
continue to find more and
more applications for existing additive manufacturing
technologies on our aircraft.
I don't see the adoption
of this technology slowing
down. n
More information:
www.aurora.aero

jec composites magazine 5
http://www.aurora.aero
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #102 - January/February 2016
