Maria Weiland was invited to present LOCOMACHS in the March edition 2016 (n°18) of Clean Sky's Skyline magazine. The article can be found on page 9.
MoreThis project is co-funded by the European Union
Maria Weiland was invited to present LOCOMACHS in the March edition 2016 (n°18) of Clean Sky's Skyline magazine. The article can be found on page 9.
More
The LOCOMACHS project aims to develop and demonstrate the feasibility of new part production manufacturing and assembly operations of composite and hybrid aero-structures parts. To achieve the ambitious LOCOMACHS objectives, it is necessary to gather expertise in a wide range of skills, and, in order to reach the highest possible impact, the main stakeholders in the field.
The LOCOMACHS Consortium has been drawn up in this spirit and gathers 30 partners covering the full range of the value chain, from early design and development (process, method, software and hardware tools providers), to skills and facilities needed for manufacturing and assembly. Such a coherent set of competencies would be very difficult to find at national level with the same level of expertise in all fields.
The consortium include:
GKN Aerospace is a global first tier design and build partner with over 11,000 employees. It has facilities in Europe, North and South America and Asia which participate in a wide range of major international military and civil aerospace and space programmes. These include the Airbus A330, A340, A350 XWB, A400M, Boeing 737, 767 and 787, F-35 Lightning II, Gripen, and the Ariane space programme. Participation in these programmes includes complex metallic and composite aerostructures and engine components. GKN Aerospace has a focused strategy for the development of its technology and material processes that has seen it secure highly competitive positions through innovation and cost effectiveness. As part of this strategy GKN Aerospace has invested across its businesses in the latest methodologies and facilities for automated composite manufacture and has delivered a number of “industry firsts” in composites such as the first major composite wing spar (A400M) and the first composite large engine fan case (787 GEnx). GKN Aerospace has experience in the full design, manufacture and certification on commercial, military and space platforms and has completed over 33 design and build packages since 1990, including: A330/A340 fixed trailing edge, A380 composite and metallic fixed trailing edge secondary structure, A380 composite flap track beams, A400M composite wing spar and fixed trailing edge structure, A350 XWB composite rear wing spar.
The following members of GKN Aerospace will participate in LOCOMACHS: GKN Aerospace Composite Technology Centre, Filton, Bristol; GKN Aerospace Composites Research Centre, Cowes, Isle of Wight; GKN Aerospace Munich; and GKN Aerospace Sweden. These centres have a wide experience in research and development activities, having taken part in several large scale European and UK research programmes including TANGO, ALCAS, AWIATOR, Clean Sky Natural Laminar Flow (Ground Demo Phase 1 & 2, Flight test Demo), NGCW (UK, Airbus led).
In LOCOMACHS GKN will lead SP1 and WP13, as well as participate to WPs 11, 12, 14, 21, 22, 34, 41, 42, 44, 45 and 53.