LAUNCHED IN SPACE

EADS Casa Espacio (Madrid, Spain), a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS Astrium, purchased a Viper 6000 AFP system from MAG Industrial Automation Systems (New York, NY) for automated fabrication of composite structures for the Ariane 5, Vega and Soyuz space launch programs, as well as advanced telecommunications satellites. The new automated fiber placement system was installed last summer in the EADS Astrium Center of Excellence for Composite Materials in Madrid, where it joins a Charger Flat Tape Layer (FTL) and a Viper 3000 AFP System previously purchased by EADS.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services. Astrium is dedicated to providing civil and defense space systems and services, with more than 15,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure, Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment, and Astrium Services for the development and delivery of satellite services.

"This new machine will keep us at the forefront of automated manufacturing of composite aerospace structures," said Antonio Jimenez, manager of the Center of Excellence for Composite Materials. The Viper 6000 series AFP machine, MAG?s largest, can produce panels up to 6.3 m/20.7 ft in diameter and is the most advanced manufacturing equipment for complex-geometry 3D structures, according to Randy Kappesser, vice president MAG Composites.

The Viper enables independent control over feed, clamp, cut and start for up to 32 individual tows or slit tape, allowing automated "on-the-fly" adjustment of the fiber band width, controlled bending of fiber layout around changing contours and precise configuration of openings. The multi-strand control allows wrinkle-free, near-net shape lay-up of enclosed and deeply contoured structures and concave/convex surfaces for precision production of fuselage sections, panels, cowls, ducts and nozzle cones for commercial, military and space vehicles. "The Viper 6000 is one of the most versatile and productive machinery designs created," said Kappesser.

MAG developed the original automation technology for laying aerospace composite tape and fiber, and currently has the largest global installed base of machines ? approximately 120 ? with 47 of them in Europe and Asia. Its Viper AFP is the most widely used fiber placement system in the world. The company also has 12 facilities and more than 2000 employees in Europe as well, providing development, manufacturing and service resources.

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