A global aerospace company focused on developing small and medium-sized launch vehicles has announced that it has begun installing the largest automated fiber placement machine of its kind on its Neutron rocket production line in Maryland. The automated fiber placement machine is capable of automatically producing the largest
The custom-made robotic equipment weighs 99 tons and is 12 meters high. It was manufactured by a Washington, D.C., company and has begun to be installed at the Space Structures Complex in Maryland . The new machine will automate the production of all large composite structures for the Neutron launch vehicle, including the 28-meter-long interstage and fairing, the 7-meter-diameter first-stage tank and the 5-meter-diameter second-stage tank panels.
The Neutron launch vehicle has extremely high requirements for parts production due to its unique reusable characteristics. This automatic robot can lay continuous carbon fiber composites at a speed of 100 meters per minute. The AFP machine is also equipped with a fully automatic real-time detection system that can find tiny defects in the entire laminated carbon composite and inform the operator of the problem before the machine starts laying the next layer.
As Neutron's carbon composite structure enters full production, the automated machine is expected to save more than 150,000 hours of manufacturing time during the production process.
the company said : "We will combine our flight-proven carbon composite technology, additive manufacturing and autonomous robotics to design and build large aerospace components, which will not only maintain Neutron's launch cadence, but also give back to our customers who have supported our carbon composite structure spacecraft. We will produce the next generation of rockets."
