Germany's Cevotec is to install a Samba Pro Prepreg fibre patch placement (FPP) system at the Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS), at The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University (WSU).

Since its inception in 1985, NIAR has become the USA’s premier aviation research institute. With nearly a million square feet of research and office space, it provides research, design, testing, certification and training to the aerospace and manufacturing industries, Department of Defense and other government agencies.

“We are happy to announce our agreement to install a Samba Pro system for ATLAS in 2021,” said Thorsten Groene, managing director of Cevotec. “Together with our US partner Composite Automation, we are excited about this first FPP system in the United States and look forward to future R&D collaborations with NIAR.”

ATLAS director Waruna Seneviratne believes integrating FPP technology in the ATLAS portfolio will lead to pioneering projects.

“We are looking forward to receiving the Samba system and further advancing our portfolio of robotic-based placement technologies,” he said. “The flexibility of FPP will be of interest in particular for our R&D partners from the defense community.”

The Samba Pro system features an ultrasonic cutting unit and active material cooling and will be operational for application development with industrial customers by end of 2021.

www.cevotec.com