FIBER PLACEMENT LOW-COST PRODUCTION FOR COMPLEX COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

The production cost of manufacturing the V-22 grip was reduced by over 60% with the implementation of fiber placement. Design changes allowed the fabrication process of this thick composite structure to be automated. The designer set aside the paradigm of bonded metal craft that has shaped many composite parts. The principles of laminate design were challenged as ply edge definition and shape took on a new look as low-cost methods drove the bases of the ply shapes. Strength and weight were not sacrificed as cost was lowered, and the critics that wanted a more conventional solution soon faded into the background. Tools that made these savings possible which were not available at the start of the V-22 program are 3-D modeling systems, knowledge-based design systems, and fiber placement equipment with personal computers. The people at Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. brought the tools together to build one of the most complex composite parts ever designed in a cost-effective way.