November 2023 Composites Blog
November 2, 2023
Automated Fiber Patch System to Boost AI Composites Research
Based in Germany, The Fraunhofer Institute relocated its composite manufacturing equipment by Cevotec to a brand new AI research facility at Augsburg University. The move was made in an attempt to accelerate composite R&D efforts. Hall 43 in Augsburg University is where Fraunhofer IGCV placed its Cevotec Samba Pro Prepreg system. It's the university’s new AI research hall and it was inaugurated in June 2023. It was only recently that the production system became fully operational in its new home. Researchers are now using the system to test innovative machine learning approaches. The Samba pro Prepreg system is also available to interested companies who want to explore and evaluate the feasibility of parts in Fiber Patch Placement (FPP) design. Fiber patch placement is an additive manufacturing technology for the automated production of geometrically complex fiber composites. It allows a new degree of flexibility in automated fiber placement and is compatible with several materials, such as dry fibers, glass-fiber prepregs, adhesive prepregs, and carbon fiber prepreg systems. The relocation of the new system came as Fraunhofer IGCV became part of a group of partners for the Augsburg AI Production Network. The aim of the network is to facilitate joint research into AI-based production technologies at the interface between manufacturing technologies, materials, data based modeling, and digital business models. Learn more here.
November 18, 2023
NASA and JAXA Combat Space Junk With Wooden Satellites
NASA and JAXA Combat Space Junk With Wooden Satellites
To combat space junk NASA and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) are developing wooden satellites to be launched into space as early as mid-2024. Space junk poses various setbacks including ambient light pollution that makes distant space phenomena harder to detect. The more than 9,300 tons of space junk also pose a threat to the international space station, manned spacecraft, and people on earth. This is why the space agencies want to test wooden satellites as a more sustainable alternative to traditional satellites which are normally made of metal and other materials. NASA and JAXA are confident that the wood will not burn or rot in the lifeless conditions of space. They ran tests at the international space station using 3 wood samples including magnolia, cherry, and birch. The wood samples were exposed to the extreme conditions of space which involved harsh temperature changes, exposure to cosmic rays and solar particles. After 10 months of space exposure, tests determined no deformation or decomposition such as warping, peeling, cracking, or surface damage. With further testing the researchers chose to use magnolia because it is less likely to break or split during manufacture. Nevertheless, the most important feature of wooden satellites is that they are incinerated upon re-entry from space, eliminating any waste. Learn more about this project here.
