Innovative Manufacturing Processes

Composite Tooling Corporation has investigated the potential for a modular line of high-preformance two-axis gimbals fabricated from advanced composite materials. These gimbals are based upon standard drive units that can be scaled for a particularapplication, allow for multiple gimbal configurations, allow for both off-axis and on-axis control technologies, and allow for dynamic performance increases through the use of alternative bearing types and precision and alternative advanced compositematerial selection and lamina orientations.CSA Engineering has developed an innovative control system based on Adaptive Filtering and Disturbance Feedforward (AFDF). This approach offers significant potential for improving gimbal performance over conventional gimbal control systems throughreal-time identification and removal of the feedback disturbance effects from the feedback signal, with no effect on the feedback signal. AFDF potentially offers reduction of structural disturbances by several orders of magnitude, and naturally adapts tovariations in various disturbance paths.An innovative modular gimbal design, utilizing advanced composites, when used with an advanced AFDF control system, offers a more timely and economic high-performance gimbal system for the multitude of threat detection and response sensors now underdevelopment. A high-performance line of advanced composite two-axis gimbals for airborne and space applications incorporating advanced AFDF control systems.