ADVANCED MANDREL FOR FABRICATION OF FILAMENTARY COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

HOLLI RESEARCH'S CMIS MANDREL SYSTEM WILL MAKE BETTER MANDRELS FOR MEDIUM TO LARGE FILAMENTARY ADVANCED COMPOSITE STRUCTURES. WITH CURRENT TECHNOLOGY, THE MANDRELS USED TO FABRICATE COMPOSITE PARTS WEIGH 20 TIMES MORE THEN THE FINISHED PART. THIS, IN TURN, CAUSES FABRICATION, DIMENSIONAL, AND HANDLING PROBLEMS. FURTHERMORE, THESE EXISTING MANDREL SYSTEMS HAVE HIGH RECURRING EXPENSES, ADDING TO THE ALREADY HIGH ACQUISITION COSTS OF ADVANCED COMPOSITE PRODUCTS AND THE SYSTEMS THEY ARE USED IN. THE CMIS MANDREL IS LIGHTWEIGHT, REUSABLE, AND REMOVABLE THROUGH RELATIVELY SMALL POLAR PORTS. DISASSEMBLY IS PERFORMED FROM THE OUTSIDE OF THE FINISHED PART, REDUCING THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGING THE PART. DUE TO ITS UNIQUE DESIGN AND LIGHT WEIGHT, THE CMIS MANDREL IS EXTREMELY STIFF. THIS ALLOWS FOR THE FABRICATION OF LARGER AND MORE ACCURATE COMPOSITE PARTS. USES FOR THE CMIS MANDREL INCLUDE COMPOSITE; ROCKET MOTOR CASES, FUEL TANKS, AIRCRAFT FUSELAGES, SPACE STRUCTURES, AND OTHER HOLLOW DESIGNS.