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Composites repaired by lasers

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GKN Aerospace and German laser technology specialist SCLR Lasertechnik have teamed up to develop a new process that will make the repair of composite structures faster and cheaper.

and German laser technology specialist SCLR Lasertechnik (SLCR) have teamed up to develop a new automated process that will make the repair of composite structures faster and cheaper.

The automated laser process will replace the time-consuming manual grinding of the composite surface that is currently required to prepare a surface before bonding new materials onto it to make a repair.

Phil Grainger, senior technical director and chief technologist at GKN Aerospace, said: 'As composite materials increasingly dominate the airframe, their effective and swift repair becomes ever more critical. We believe this laser technology will solve significant cost issues. This new agreement with SLCR aims to deliver first generation equipment in just two years.'

For the full story behind the GKN Aerospace/SLCR automated process see the April 20, 2009 issue of The Engineer. To order a copy of this issue, telephone +44 020 7292 3705 or e-mail tecirc@centaur.co.uk

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