Airbus partner Spirit AeroSystems has started manufacturing resin-transfer moulded spoilers for the A320neo family, applying the process for the first time to high-volume large aircraft structural components.
Resin-transfer moulding involves clamping dry fibres in a mould before injecting resin, a process which results in a consistently accurate product, the airframer says.
Conventional production involves using carbonfibre pre-impregnated with resin and subjected to high pressure in an autoclave.
But Airbus says this method is “expensive and time-consuming”.
Spirit AeroSystems has developed and produced the first shipset of composite spoilers using resin transfer in its Prestwick plant, located in Scotland.
“[This method] enables each part to be manufactured to be identical, to within hundredths of a millimetre,” says Airbus. “Which not only realises significant time and cost savings but also ‘right-first-time’ quality.”
Airbus says the initial spoiler set for the A320neo will undergo certification, in line with availability, through its final assembly lines.
