News: AMRC Composite Centre open for business

A state-of-the-art centre supporting the development of advanced composite materials has opened at The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing in Rotherham.

Previously based in the original AMRC building on the Advanced Manufacturing Park, the Composite Centre now has bespoke facilities in a 1,800 sq m extension to the AMRC Factory of the Future.

The £4.5m centre provides a full range of design, manufacturing, assembly and structural testing services for advanced composite materials. The centre also works with complex hybrid components and systems, which require manufacturing expertise in both composite and metallic structures. Complex and finely detailed fiber-placed structures are being developed for aerospace manufacturing.

The new Composite Centre includes a general workshop and a controlled environment with high-spec clean rooms. It houses a range of state-of-the-art design, development and processing equipment, including a filament winding machine, automated tape/tow placement robot, 5-axis machining centres, and selection of autoclaves and ovens.

Richard Scaife, manager of the AMRC Composite Centre, said: "We are very pleased to announce the new equipment coming in to our new facility.

"This greatly increases the range and flexibility of the resources available for the manufacture of complex high-fidelity composite parts."

Upgrades to robots used to automate the production of composite parts includes a new four-tow head provided by AMRC member company Automated Dynamics. The head, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, will allow more complex parts to be produced without human intervention.

Scaife said: "The new Automated Dynamics fiber placement head will allow the AMRC to remain at the cutting-edge of carbon fiber composite material production, and is vital to projects we are currently pursuing with GE Aerospace.

"By adding this head to our already existing in-situ thermoplastic, automated tape laying and 12-tow ITC thermoset heads, we have increased the versatility and overall efficiency of the machine, allowing us to develop solutions that were previously unattainable."

Robert J. Langone, president of Automated Dynamics, added: "The AMRC has been a valuable partner with Automated Dynamics for many years, and we are proud to have added this new fibre placement head to the capabilities of the Composite Centre.

"The centre is always at the leading edge of innovation in our industry, and knowing that our machines help make that happen is rewarding for the entire Automated Dynamics team."

Construction of the extension was funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).

AMRC website

Automated Dynamics website

Images: Automated Dynamics / AMRC