Design Courses
Composites for Engineers 1. Design, Test and Manufacture
Course Code: AC010
Duration: 5 Days
Course Fee: £1512.50 +VAT
Course structure: 60% theory, 40% practical
This course is intended for delegates with a good technical background in engineering, materials or mechanical design who require a comprehensive technical understanding of advanced materials, their use, manufacture and test.
Composites for Engineers 1 is designed to provide engineers and technicians with a comprehensive technical overview of the materials and processes and the affect the materials and process choices have upon composite material performance.
The course considers in detail good practice in design, orientation effects, use of cellular systems, finish considerations, wet and dry layup techniques, laminate performance analysis, causes of laminate distortion, Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and other testing requirements in both components and tool design. Practical activities support the theory and are used to demonstrate the interaction between design, material and process choice along with the opportunity to practice NDT and analysis techniques. The course satisfies ATA 104 IV objectives.
The course aims to:
- compare composite material their uses and application.
- specify suitable material characteristics for a given application.
- enable delegates to be able to describe the difference between traditional and advanced materials in relation to the appropriate design criteria.
- give an appreciation of the use of composite materials and their effects upon component design and manufacture.
- develop an appreciation the impact of mould design to maximise performance expectations of composites.
- develop an understanding of mechanical testing and the use of NDT in the design and manufacture of composite components.
The course covers:
Introduction to laminate theory, orientation effects, fibre and resin properties. Good practice in design and the impact of loading parameters considering the principle stresses and maximum shear that the component is subject to are considered along with the load paths and supporting structural needs to produce fit for purpose design. The impact of fibre orientation, curing schedules and hygrothermal effects and the influence of the tooling design and the manufacturing process will be taken into account.
The key weaknesses of component performance will be evaluated with regard to inter lamina shear and how these effects can be overcome by good design practice and the application of design centred criteria.
Consideration of tool design in terms of the impact of thermal expansion, surface finish and release surfaces influences will be explored in terms of component, mould design and component release influences.
Laminate performance analysis causes of laminate distortion will be demonstrated through the use of physical testing.
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and other testing requirements in both components and tool design will be reviewed with simple NDT techniques being utilised through-out the practical activities.
Practical activities of manufacture laminates of different orientation to carry out mechanical testing to evaluate tensile, torsional and bending properties of laminates against laminate theory.
Delegates will have the opportunity to experience handling a variety of fabrics in the form of dry fabrics and pre-pregs used for manufacture. Delegates will have the opportunity to use wet lay-up and pre pregs to produce their own parts, considering the theoretical elements discussed.
Delegates have the opportunity to produce a part using resin infusion techniques and compare this to the hand layup techniques previously used.
Dates on Application
Composites for Engineers 2 Structural Performance
Course Code: AC011
Duration: 5 Days
Course Fee: £1512.50 +VAT
Course structure: 50% theory, 50% practical
Prior learning (Pre requisite): AC010 – Composites for Engineers 1.
This course is intended for delegates with a good technical background in engineering, materials or mechanical design who have completed composites for engineers 1 and wish to further their knowledge of composite materials, manufacture and analysis.
Composites for Engineers 2 builds on the principles and practices developed in Composites for Engineers 1. The course focus is upon taking a product from concept, through design and manufacture to prototype and analysis with consideration of ROI. This approach enables the further understanding of the design of materials for structural performance, the design of joints and bonds, mould design, repair methods and surface treatments. Greater emphasis is placed upon material performance analysis and resin flow characteristics and the latest processing techniques of Resin Infusion and Resin Transfer Moulding. The course satisfies ATA 104 IV
The course aims to:
- develop an understanding of component development from concept design to analysis and manufacture.
- develop design parameters to aid in good design for manufacture
- show the use of design envelopes to support the design process
- enable the delegates to select appropriate prototype build methods and manufacturing methods for cost effective solutions.
- enable delegates to select materials and specify mould design for ROI.
- develop an understanding of the use of computational analysis in the design process.
The course covers:
The course extends the understanding of the design of materials for structural performance, examining the impact and role played by the choice of fabric, weave pattern the impact of cutting, draping and shaping for complex parts while maintaining the orientations specified by the design parameters. Such areas as the effects of spring back within design and manufacture and the methods used to reduce the effect are introduced.
The principles and practical effects of joining composites using mechanical fastenings, inserts and adhesive joints along with the impact of each on the mechanical properties of assemblies is demonstrated using real applications and case studies. Complex and multi part mould design and the routes to failure due to poor mould design and preparation are evaluated along with issues of part separation. The need for effective repair methodologies within manufacture and service are explored along with the effect of human factors in the design and manufacturing operations.
Greater emphasis is placed upon material performance analysis and resin flow characteristics to enable an understanding of the influence of these parameters on the latest processing techniques of Resin Infusion and Resin Transfer Moulding.
The theory and practical aspects of the course focus upon the development of a product from concept to prototype, the product is utilised to develop the design, manufacturing and analysis elements of the course alongside the volume requirements which influence the manufacturing options and the overall ROI.
Practical activities support the theory and are used to demonstrate the interaction the processing techniques and analysis of performance, thermal effects and flow characteristics and underlying theoretical principles and includes the use of computational analysis to support design and processing parameters.
Dates on Application