"The significance of processing thermoplastic UDT at 4,000 IPM layup speeds with the variable spot size (VSS) laser is, for the first time that we know of, that thermoplastics are able to achieve thermoset layup speeds. These developments can help eliminate the need for autoclave cure, offer major and new, throughput advantages for thermoplastics," explained Michael Assadi, chief engineer at Electroimpact.

Read the full article at Aerospace Manufacturing Magazine

Last week, Electroimpact participated in the Air Force Global Strike Command’s innovation hub (STRIKEWERX) "Design Sprint" event to aid B-52 maintainers throughout the command. As an industry representative, Electroimpact worked alongside airmen and academia partners to design and build rapid prototypes to improve the process for maintenance of brake pads on the B-52 aircraft.

Read more about how STRIKEWERX tackles B-52 maintainer’s issue

The VSS laser + ServoCreel, both patent pending, are two of the recent innovations made by Electroimpact's AFP Group. These fit into their overall AFP4.0 philosophy which has the following tenets: Quality, reliability, performance, and utilization.

"Electroimpact is developing a new technology based on old technologies. Named SCRAM, or Scalable Composite Robotic Additive Manufacturing, the system is an integration of an FFF 3D printer and a thermoplastic AFP machine. The system is comprised of an accurate robot, a rotating build platform, and a climate-controlled build chamber. The end effector carries multiple material systems to print a soluble support material (the “tool”), a continuous fiber tape, and a chopped fiber material. Each print starts with the robot depositing the support material on the build platform. It then automatically switches to printing continuous fiber and chopped fiber-reinforced material to produce the part. The continuous fiber is deposited using “in-situ consolidation”, in which the tape is laser-welded to the substrate material and compacted in process. The resulting continuous fiber-reinforced parts are on the order of out-of-autoclave levels of porosity."

Read more from the JEC Group: http://www.jeccomposites.com/knowledge/international-composites-news/printing-continuous-carbon-fibre-true-3d

Electroimpact creates SCRAM, a true 3d printer and multifunctional manufacturing cell for complex, aero-quality continuous fiber composite parts.

Read more at Composites World: https://www.compositesworld.com/articles/combining-afp-with-3d-printing-for-flexible-parts-production

Electroimpact has teamed with BAE system to enhance the accuracy of off-the-shelf robots to deal with the precise tolerances required for military aircraft as part of BAE Systems Future Fighter - Factory of the Future.

Read the full article at Aviation Week

Credit: BAE Systems

SCRAM is a true 6-axis, industrial continuous fiber-reinforced 3D printer, which enables the tool-less rapid fabrication of aerospace-grade integrated composite structures. High-performance thermoplastics combined with a high percentage of continuous fiber reinforcement are used to produce parts with exceptional material properties previously unheard of in the world of additive manufacturing.

Read the full article at Composites World

Electroimpact has integrated a thermoplastic automatic fiber placement (AFP) process and an advanced fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing process to create SCRAM, which it describes as "an industrial, true six-axis, continuous fiber-reinforced 3D printer."

Read the full article at The Prospector.