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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 8 1 3 PROCESS TECHNOLOGY A new technique of folding flat sheets into complex lattice forms could replace the 3D printing processes currently used to create lattices for metamaterials. Spirit AeroSystems uses some of the world’s larg- est autoclaves in its composite fuselage business. The company’s new intelligent heated tool tech- nology can cure composite parts 40% faster and at half the cost without using an autoclave. Arconic Inc., Pittsburgh, will install a new horizontal heat treat furnace at its Davenport Works facility in Riverdale, Iowa. The furnace will be able to heat treat longer and thicker plate than ever before—including material for Arconic’s recently installed thick plate stretcher—and could play a role in serving the growing demand for monolithic thick plate wing ribs used in composite wings. Construction on the $137 million project is slated to begin later this year with commercial production expected in 2019. arconic.com . BRIEFS Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford, Conn., opened its new Engineer- ing and Technology Center, a 425,000-sq-ft, state-of-the-art facility that will accommodate up to 1750 employees and serve as a global engineering headquarters for PurePower and F135 aircraft engines. Supported by the State of Connecticut through the 2014 Connecticut Aerospace Reinvest- ment Act, the building is being considered for LEED Gold Certification with the U.S. Green Building Council. pw.utc.com . CURE FOUND FOR AUTOCLAVE INEFFICIENCY A new method for manufactur- ing composite parts was developed at Spirit AeroSystems’ Advanced Tech- nology Center, UK, which eliminates the need for an autoclave and enables complete control of the curing pro- cess through real-time monitoring and feedback. The approach, developed functionalities in metamaterials, which derive their unusual physical, mechani- cal, or biological capabilities from their lattice geometries. Because the new method begins with a flat sheet, the en- tire lattice surface is available for orna- mentation with nanopatterns or elec- tronic devices prior to folding. Con- versely, access to the internal surface areas of 3D-printed lattice structures is very limited, which prevents similar ornamentation. Researchers categorized lattic- es into three basic categories and pro- posed a folding strategy for each one, in addition to designing self-folding mechanisms triggered by conditions such as temperature change. The new method allows free-form nanoscale 3D ornaments to be applied to flat sheets using techniques such as electron beam nanolithography, and the lattice structures can bear arbitrarily complex surface ornaments at different scales. The new approach could be used to develop medical implants or devices that incorporate flexible electronics. www.tudelft.nl/en. in collaboration with the Universi- ty of Strathclyde, UK, and the Scot- tish Innovation Center for Sensor and Imaging Systems, uses an in- telligent multi-zone heated tool to cure parts 40% faster and at half the cost of current technologies. During traditional manufac- turing processes, high-performance composite materials are layered on a surface and placed in an auto- clavewhereheat andpressureaccel- erate hardening. “Instead of curing components at a standard tempera- ture for hours at a time, we can now tailor the cycle time to match indi- vidual part geometries,” explains Stevie Brown, lead engineer. “The autoclave has been a bottleneck in manufacturing lines and remov- ing it will reduce cycle times for com- ponents, cut production costs, and de- crease energy consumption.” The new technology supports a wide range of composite components across indus- tries, from wind turbine blades to the next generation of composite aircraft. spiritaero.com . KNOW WHEN TO FOLD ‘EM Inspired by origami, researchers at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, developed a new pro- cess to create the intricate lattice struc- tures used in the design of metama- terials. The novel method of folding flat sheets into complex lattice forms could replace the 3D printing process- es currently used to create lattices. It could also open the door to advanced