The National Research Council (NRC) has announced a partnership with the industrial engineering group Fives to improve the efficiency of manufacturing composite parts for the aerospace sector.
The two organizations are jointly developing an advanced profilometer that the NRC says will provide faster and more accurate inspection of composite parts.
Based on an innovative optical technology, the advanced profilometer for composite placement shows considerable advantages over existing inspection technologies used for the same purposes. This new in-process inspection technology will help manufacturers meet strict standards by providing superior measuring information without limiting the process functionality. The faster, more accurate measurements will speed up manufacturing processes, reduce the risk of errors, and help composite manufacturers be more competitive, the NRC said in a statement last week.
“The NRC is proud to work with Fives to advance the profilometer technology, pioneered by a multidisciplinary NRC team,” said NRC president Iain Stewart. “Our expertise, paired with Fives’ forward-thinking methods, will help achieve the original vision of developing an innovative, high-impact solution that enhances the efficiency of automated composite manufacturing and facilitates the digital transformation of the process.”
Fives designs and supplies machines, process equipment and production lines for various industrial sectors and is a major supplier of composite manufacturing equipment to the aerospace industry. The engineering group employs close to 8,700 people in about thirty countries, mainly in Canada, the US and Europe. The Metal Cutting and Composites group that worked on this project has over 1,100 people globally.
