CAD CAM News

Many of Delcam’s customers are moving into the manufacture of tooling for composites.

Companies wishing to benefit from the current boom in the use of composites in the aerospace industry will be able to learn more about the opportunities at a free seminar to be hosted by Delcam at its Birmingham headquarters on Wednesday 25th November. The seminar, which is being organised by Aerospace Manufacturing magazine, will allow those new to the materials, and those hoping to win more business in the industry, to meet, and learn from, a range of experts from both the commercial and technical sides of composites manufacture.

The changing patterns in materials use in the aerospace industry offer both threats and opportunities to component manufacturers and the toolmakers that support them. In particular, companies that have been hit by the decline in UK toolmaking could find new opportunities in the composites area. Their skills in producing complex injection moulds could be transferred relatively easily to the manufacture of tooling for compression moulding and reaction injection moulding of composites. Similarly, firms that have traditionally made models and patterns for the metals industry could turn to producing similar items for composites manufacture.

The presentations will cover opportunities that exist in current programmes where up to 50% of the aircraft will be made from composites. There will also be details on the latest cutting tools and machine tools that will need to be used by companies moving from metalworking into the machining of composites.