Process Automation for Ceramic Composite Fabrication Methods

There is a growing need to establish a process to cost effectively produce CMC parts for which there is already an existing market, and to make CMC materials a practical material choice in applications where they were previously too costly for consideration. Preceramic polymers offer significant advantages over chemical vapor deposition processes, in terms of cost and schedule. Processes have not been developed or demonstrated to make preceramic polymer prepreggs. A new polycarbosiliane based prepregging polymer could be compression molded either by hand or by an automated system. This matrix polymer could also be used in coating fabric using a x-y plotting type coating system or film casting to reduce polymer scrap. Starfire has conceived of chemistry to develop an SiC forming polymer that is solid at room temperature and prepreggable. Starfire proposes to further the development of this chemistry and evaluate it as a matrix in filled systems as well as a filled sizing that will be compatible with Composite Optics Inc. Ceramic’s HPZ polymer. Once demonstrated, this process can be used in high volume manufacture of commercial parts currently starting limited production at Starfire, as well as parts like the JSF flaps and seals produced by ATK/COIC. BENEFITS: Lowers the cost and increases the volume of CMC production