Class Dates

This five-day course is our most popular. It is designed for composite parts fabricators who need to learn a great deal about the fundamentals of advanced composite materials, manufacturing and repair techniques.

This course assumes no prior experience with composites. It is an ideal starting point for those interested in developing their advanced composite expertise with a comprehensive fundamental overview.

Hands-on exercises are extensive, and students will work with fiberglass and Kevlar® Cloth,carbon fiber unidirectional tape, Nomex® honeycomb, and foam core materials. One of the finished parts will be deliberately damaged and repaired using basic repair techniques and “wet” lay-up repair materials and processes. The final repaired part will be cut in half for evaluation of the repair cross section.

For those who desire further training and more difficult repair scenarios, we recommend taking our Advanced Composite Structures: Fabrication and Damage Repair Phase 2 course directly after this course.

Key Lecture Elements

Current Status of Composite Technology: history, recent developments, and terminology

Characteristics of Advanced Composite Materials Material Forms: dry cloth and wet resin vs. prepregs, weave/styles

Fabrication Methods: wet lay-up, prepreg lay-up, filament winding, RTM, press molding, pultrusionResin/Matrix Systems: thermosets vs. thermoplastics, temperature ranges, cold storage requirements/shelf life limits, adhesives

Fundamentals of Fabrication: prepreg cloth handling and ply orientation, lay-up procedures, vacuum bagging

Curing Methods: oven/autoclave/hot bonder curesUse of Adhesives: co-curing vs. secondary bonding, surface preparation, curing temperatures, cleanliness, pressure, bond line quality

Inspection Criteria: non-destructive inspection methods, defect detection, galvanic corrosion, documentation, acceptable vs. unacceptable defects, defect prevention

Principles of Tooling: types of tools, thermal characteristics

Repair Methods: permanent vs. temporary repairs, scarf vs. stepped vs. mechanical patch repair scenarios, demo of “hot-bonder” field repair units

Fasteners: use of mechanical fasteners, adhesively bonded fasteners

Health and Safety Issues: proper handling, personal protection, allergic reactions, waste disposal