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Music

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Our NASA missions operate in

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extreme environments that

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require stronger, higher

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performing materials, such as

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composites. Composites are the

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materials of the future for

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aerospace. We have a fantastic

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new addition to our Composites

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Technology Center at the

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Marshall Space Flight Center.

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This new robotics composites

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capability will allow us to

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build components for our

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programs such as our

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technology demonstrations

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missions program and the

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next-generation of spacecraft

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for our exploration programs.

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Composite materials offer

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significant advantages over

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traditional materials, like

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metals. They can offer weight

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savings in the range of 30

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percent and also cost savings

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up to about 20 percent.

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Advanced manufacturing and

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composites technology are

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exciting the next generation of

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engineers. This new capability

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will provide a platform for that

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next generation to build some of

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the largest composite structures

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ever conceived. It is

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essentially a very sophisticated

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tape dispenser. It takes the

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composite material, which is

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slit down on spools and then

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dispenses those through the head

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of the machine in a very

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precision laid out pattern, and

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then places and removes those

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tows of composite material

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precisely where we want them to.

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So that offers us a lot of

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flexibility in being able to

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fabricate large scale composite

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components whether it be fairings

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or skirts, any time of a number

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of things for buildups. The

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robotic platform allows you to

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optimize and tailor where you

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want those fibers to be. So,

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what the machines use is

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industry standard slit tape.

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So what we're feeding through

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the machine for this particular

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configuration is half-inch tow.

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It is an intermediate modulus

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fiber with a toughened epoxy

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resin system.

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The machine lays down individual

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tows of carbon fiber to a

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predetermined path which is

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dictated by our design and

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analysis for any type of

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specific strength or loading

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conditions.  In this particular

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facility, we can fabricate

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anything up to about a 4-meter

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cube. Size is really limited by

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your infrastructure. So, these

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machines, in the proper setting,

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can be made to build extremely

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large parts such as monolithic

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structures for an SLS class

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vehicle. Marshall has a long

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history with automated fiber

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placement. We’ve had one of the

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first production fiber placement

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machines. We built a series of

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different parts and pieces for

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programs. We made the external

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tank nose cap, which was actual

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flight hardware, as well as

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last summer, we fabricated the

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largest out of autoclave

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composite tank ever built. This

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machine will allow us to build

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large structures for SLS and

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beyond. It is not just the

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robotic technology, it is all

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of the other associated

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infrastructures.  Like clean

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rooms. Like large autoclave

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capability. Heavy equipment

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transportation. The freezers.

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The composite cutting

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capabilities. Robotic technology

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really brings several capability

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to us. One is because we can do

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manufacturing faster. It affects

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the timeline for the composites

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material. And also, we can

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control and make parts

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consistently. Because when you

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go from hand lay up to robotic

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application, you can do work a

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whole lot more accurately with

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a whole lot more consistency.

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Our guys are excited because

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now we have the technology

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which is up to par with this