{"id":15637,"date":"2020-03-03T08:08:51","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T08:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.compositestoday.com\/?p=15637"},"modified":"2020-03-03T08:08:56","modified_gmt":"2020-03-03T08:08:56","slug":"nccuk-new-reserch-lab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.compositestoday.com\/2020\/03\/nccuk-new-reserch-lab\/","title":{"rendered":"National Composites Centre Opens New R&D Facility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Uk’s National Composites Centre<\/a> has opened the doors to the\u00a0latest phase of its advanced composite manufacturing facility. Part laboratory, part factory, the\u00a0new space is the result of a two-year, \u00a336.7m research and development programme to harness the power of new digital technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The global market for composites is predicted to be worth $105.8bn in 2020 and growing at 6.5% per year. In the UK alone, the value of composites is expected to reach c. \u00a312.5bn by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aerospace<\/a> is a significant driver of demand, with operators looking to replace ageing aircraft fleets with the latest, most fuel-efficient models.\u00a0 Using current, labour-intensive techniques, manufacturers can only make 6 pairs of wings per month. The market requires 100. Meeting this need means radically re-thinking how these wings are made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the past two years, a team comprised of engineers, researchers, software architects, roboticists and textile experts have explored how digital technologies can make composites easier to design for, as well as quicker and cheaper to make. A key goal was to demonstrate that they could be a viable, mass-producible alternative to traditional metallic parts.\u00a0 The results of this research are 10 ground-breaking new machines which redefine the \u2018state of the art\u2019 for composite manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n