Composite materials are widely used in a number of industrial sectors from aviation, space, to boat building, automotive, and sports goods. In recent years there has been a substantial increase in the use of composite structures for various applications and for new generation airplanes. The various forms of composite materials offer advantages of light weight, design flexibility, high specific stiffness and specific strength.
For example the use of composites in the aviation industry spans from components to large structures, some examples are helicopter rotor blades and radomes, engine nacelles, cowling and aircraft fairings, empennage (rudder, elevator…), fuselage and wing structure.

There are numerous methods for fabricating composite parts. Many of them were developed to meet specific design or manufacturing challenges. Therefore, the selection of the right method for a particular part will depend on the materials, the part design and end-use or application.

Composite fabrication processes involve some form of molding, to shape and consolidate the resin and fiber reinforcement. A mold is required to give the unformed resin/fiber combination its shape prior to and during cure. Our group has had extensive experience in various molding technologies and we even developed new and innovative processes for greater efficiency and performance.