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Advanced Assembly
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Performing a STOP analysis
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Advanced Assembly
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Designing Battery Packs

for Harsh Environment
Mission-Critical Devices
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Aerospace & Defense Technology

Contents
FEATURES ________________________________________ DEPARTMENTS ___________________________________
Rugged Computing 34 Application Briefs
6 Designing Battery Packs for Harsh Environment Mission- 38 New Products
Critical Devices 40 Advertisers Index
Lasers & Optics
10 High-Energy Laser Weapon Systems AEROSPACE MANUFACTURING AND
Rotorcraft Technology MACHINING (Selected editions only) ____________________
14 Advanced Assembly Solutions for the Airbus RACER Joined-
Wing Configuration IIa Does Your Coating Thickness Meet Spec?
Digital Design Tools 6a Scaling Low-Cost Carbon Fiber Production
21 Digital Twins with Oxidation Technology
RF & Microwave Technology 11a Getting the Most Out of Laser Wire
Additive Manufacturing
24 Practical 3D Printing of Antennas and RF Electronics
28 Photonic Microwave Generation Using On-Chip Optical
Frequency Combs

TECH BRIEFS _____________________________________ ON THE COVER ___________________________________

29 DDDAMS-based Urban Surveillance and Crowd Control via The Rapid And Cost Effective Rotorcraft (RACER)
UAVs and UGVs demonstrator is being developed by Airbus Helicopters
30 Covariance and Uncertainty Realism in Space Surveillance and (AH) to further validate the compound rotorcraft con-
Tracking figuration. AH have chosen to employ a joined-wing
design, which increases the stiffness relative to a tra-
31 Co-Prime Frequency and Aperture Design for HF Surveillance, ditional wing design, and two lateral rotors, mounted
Wideband Radar Imaging, and Nonstationary Array Processing aft of the Nacelles at the outboard extent of the wings.
32 Quantifying Autonomous Soaring on a Surveillance and To learn more, read the feature article on page 14.
Communications Relay Mission (Image courtesy of Airbus Helicopters)

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 Designing Battery Packs for
Harsh Environment
Mission-Critical Devices
M
any portable military electronic devices are used
in extreme environments and are designed to
comply with the MIL-STD-810 environmental
test specification. The device and battery pack
need to survive high or cold temperatures, shock or vibration,
or even submersion underwater. Typical devices include hand-
held radios, laptops and personal protection equipment.
Battery packs in these devices serve a critical role, as in most
cases, they are the sole source of power. The energy density in
these packs is typically as high as possible, given the space
available, to maximize device run times. This intensifies the
need to control and protect the stored energy where a failure
could result in catastrophic events such as thermal runaway.
This article presents design considerations and techniques for
designing and manufacturing a battery pack that operates in
extreme temperatures, absorbs shock and vibration, and
maintains a watertight seal.
Temperature
Operating temperature is a critical parameter for battery
packs as it impacts internal cell chemistry, electrical compo-
nents and the circuit board itself. Figure 1 shows the discharge
6 www.aerodefensetech.com
characteristics chart for a Panasonic UF553450Z Li-ion cell,
which illustrates variation in discharge capacity for the cell
over different operating temperatures.
It can be seen that the discharge capacity reduces as the
temperature reduces. At an operating temperature of -20°C,
the capacity reduces sharply, so that a device with a battery
pack that had 100% state of charge (SOC) at room tempera-
ture, may stop working after just minutes of operation. Con-
versely, the capacity increases with higher temperatures, but
there is the risk of heating and cell venting.
Various techniques are available to limit the impact of
temperature on battery pack performance while increasing
safety. Multiple temperature sensors can be positioned at var-
ious locations in battery packs to monitor the temperature of
cells. Data from these sensors can be used by the Battery
Management System (BMS) to provide multiple levels of pro-
tection during charging and discharging. The BMS ensures
protection by controlling the charge (CHG) and discharge
Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com
(DSG) FETs as required. The thresholds for protection need to
be carefully set in the BMS by considering the limitations of
the cell and the operating conditions for the battery pack
based on application.
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
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 Rugged Computing

itary standards are often referenced to

generate test procedures and ensure
Charge: CC-CV 1C (max) 4.20V, 23mA cut-off at 20°C testing is conducted per the standards.
4.5 Discharge: CC1C, 2.5V cut-off at each temperature Testing can be run by external test agen-
cies with the experience and the equip-
ment required to perform the tests. Fig-
4.0 ure 3 shows the temperature profile of a
temperature chamber in which one of
VOLTAGE (V)

the battery packs for military applica-

tions was tested. The pack remained op-
3.5
erational over the entire duration.

3.0
2.5
0 250
DISCHARGE CAPACITY (mAh)
-20°C
Figure 1. Discharge characteristics chart for a Panasonic UF553450Z Li-ion cell
Figure 2. Cell Layout of a 4S4P Pack
There needs to be similar protections
for cells at cold temperature. The pri-
mary risk occurs when charging cells at
cold temperatures. The datasheet for
cells specifies the acceptable tempera-
ture range to charge, which can be pro-
grammed in the configuration file of
the BMS. The BMS can stop charging
when temperature falls below the min-
imum allowed range. It can also acti-
500 750 1000 1250
-10°C 0°C 20°C 40°C
vate a heater to heat the cells to the ac-
ceptable range.
Cell Layout
Cell layout plays a critical role in en-
suring battery packs are safe for harsh en-
vironmental conditions. Isolating indi-
vidual cells with fuses at both positive
and negative terminals ensures that each
cell is protected as soon as they are
placed into the pack. In the event of a
cell venting, it vents out from positive
terminal. Thus, having a cell layout with
positive terminals of cells not facing each
other minimizes the chance of having a
venting cell affect other cells and causing
a catastrophic chain reaction. This makes
PCB layout challenging but reduces the
possibility of an unsafe event.
It is also desirable to have the positive
terminal of the highest potential cell in
the cell stack be on the edge of the pack
and facing out. Figure 2 shows an exam-
ple of the cell layout of a 4S4P pack. It
can be seen that the positive terminals
of the cells do not face each other, and
the positive terminal of the 4th cell
faces out from the pack.
Qualification Testing
Qualification plays an important role
in verifying that battery packs can sur-
vive extreme operating conditions. Mil-
Protections
Protections play a critical role in bat-
tery packs so that they can handle ex-
treme events in a safe manner. They
protect the pack from over- and under-
voltage, over-current and over-tempera-
ture, during both charging and dis-
charging of the pack.
The pack requires redundant protec-
tions at multiple levels so that in case
one of them fails, the pack is still pro-
tected. Depending on the component
that provides protection, they can be
temporary or permanent. For example,
a protection provided using FETs is tem-
porary in that it can be removed once
the conditions are safe, but one that is
provided using a chemical fuse is per-
manent. Following is a list of compo-
nents that can be used for protections:
• Ideal diode at charge and discharge
pins
• BMS along with CHG and DSG FETs
• Secondary protection chip along with
chemical fuse
• Individual cell fuses
Shock and Vibration
Battery packs used in harsh environ-
ments are exposed to various levels of
shock and vibration. As an example, a
common occurrence is one where the
operator drops the pack while handling.
It is important to make sure every piece
of equipment inside the battery pack is
constrained from dislocating and creat-
ing shorts.
Padding the inside of the battery pack
with materials such as foam is one way
to prevent components from moving.
For any connection joint, one should
design in redundant points of con-
straint so that if one fails, the joints are
still held on by backup connection
joints. Additionally, for circuit board

8 www.aerodefensetech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020

 Rugged Computing Kaman’s family of
high-precision sensors
utilize eddy current
technology to accurately
position targets
without environmental
100 contamination.
90

80

70

60 Uncontaminated
50

40

30
Measurements
Temperature (°C)

20

10

-10

-20

-30

-40

-50

-60

-70

-80
10:45:05
13:00:05
15:15:05
17:30:05
19:45:05
22:00:05
0:15:05
2:30:05
4:45:05
7:00:05
9:15:05
11:30:05
13:45:05
16:00:05
18:15:05
20:30:05
22:45:05
1:00:05
3:15:05
5:30:05
7:45:05
10:00:05
12:15:05
14:30:05
16:45:05
19:00:05
21:15:05
23:30:05
1:45:05
4:00:05
6:15:05
8:30:05
10:45:05
13:00:05
15:15:05
17:30:05
19:45:05
22:00:05
0:15:05
2:30:05
4:45:05
7:00:05
9:15:05
11:30:05
13:45:05
16:00:05
18:15:05
20:30:05
22:45:05
Time
Air Temperature (°C)

Figure 3. Temperature Chamber Test Profile

components, applying epoxy or potting Additional Recommendations

material helps in preventing them from
coming loose and creating shorts.
Underwater Immersion
Utilizing components that have been
tested and certified is a simple step to
prevent water ingress. The components
include connectors, user interface but-
tons, displays, etc. Reducing the num-
ber of parts that make up the battery
pack housing reduces the points of fail-
ure and the regions to seal. Potting and
applying epoxy on connectors are
methods to make non-certified compo-
nents watertight.
Extensive testing is required after as-
sembly to verify that the pack remains
water resistant. For certain standards,
environmental conditions may need to
be simulated as they are difficult to test
for otherwise. Even with all the steps
taken to prevent water ingression, it is
advisable to use alternate methods of
internal sealing in the event of a water
ingression.
Steps taken to prevent water ingres-
sion also help in preventing dust from
getting inside battery packs. One of the
serious risks with dust ingression is set-
tling and the creation of shorts between
electrical components, which pose a
risk for device failure.
In addition to the above considera-
tions, designers have the freedom to not
utilize 100% of the capacity of cells. The
cells can be limited to reduced capacity,
such as 80%, so that the energy density of
the pack is less, which reduces the severity
of an unwanted safety event, such as ther- Unaffected by
mal venting. Filling battery packs with
flame retardant material also helps in pre- Oil, Dirt, Water,
venting the heat and flame generated in a
cell from spreading to other cells. Finally,
a thorough Design Failure Mode and Ef-
Radiation & more
fect Analysis (DFMEA) considering envi-
ronmental conditions as causes of failure
must always be conducted, as this can For more information
bring out more failure modes that could
about our full line of
occur with the battery pack.
This article was written by Anvin Joe eddy current sensors
Manadan, Senior Electrical Engineer, In-
& measuring systems,
ventus Power (Woodridge, IL). For more in-
formation, visit http://info.hotims.com/ contact us today!
76504-500.
Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge Kevin Zwart,
800-552-6267
Senior Mechanical Engineer at Inventus measuring@kaman.com
Power, for his contributions towards
design considerations for underwater kamansensors.com
immersion and vibration.
References
Panasonic Corporation (2018). UF553450Z
Datasheet [PDF file]. Retrieved from
https://industrial.panasonic.com/cdbs/
www-data/pdf2/ACI4000/ACI4000CE52.pdf

Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020 www.aerodefensetech.com Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-866

Laser Weapon Systems
L
ongtime skeptics of high-energy
lasers often say, ‘the technology
is five years out… and will al-
ways be’. The DoD and defense
industry have invested in laser weapons
development for 40 years, in anticipa-
tion of a transition to troops that has
yet to happen.
Then, between 2017 and 2018, we
demonstrated our high-energy laser
weapon system, or HELWS, for the U.S.
Air Force and the Army, shooting down
multiple drones.
The demonstration marked a mile-
stone in the development of functional
laser weapon systems and resulted in a
contract with the Air Force to develop
three prototype high-energy laser systems
that will be deployed to troops overseas.
So what changed? What is different
than in the previous 40 years of laser
weapons development?
First, the advent of fiber laser technol-
ogy. The systems have shrunk down to a
level where they can fit on ground vehi-
cles, helicopters and ships – platforms
that the military actually uses. And the
beam quality of fiber lasers – a measure of
how much of the laser power actually
reaches the target – is excellent.
Second is the proliferation of low-cost
threats, like drones. Drones in large
numbers can do a lot of damage and
10
High-Energy
can simply exhaust the magazines of
any current defensive weapon. Lasers
can complement kinetic weapons –
never running out of “bullets”, so long
as electrical power is available.
Laser weapon systems have some key
advantages for dealing with drone
swarms. They provide speed of light “fly-
out” time and have deep magazines – as
long as you have a power source, you can
fire the laser and hit a target immedi-
ately. Lasers also have a very low cost per
shot, so it makes sense to use them
against low-cost threats like drones.
In the future, high-energy lasers may
even be used to deal with more chal-
lenging threats, such as classes of mis-
siles. Other defensive weapons include
interceptor missiles and rapid-fire guns
such as the Phalanx. But because the
number of defensive missiles and am-
munition magazines are finite, in the
future high-energy lasers can help sup-
port the overall defense when dealing
with multiple threats.
Chemical vs Fiber Lasers
Lasers have come a long way since the
first type of laser weapon systems that
were based on chemical lasers. Those
lasers were scalable to high power, but
had several downsides that ultimately
led to their downfall. First of all, there
www.aerodefensetech.com
were no significant commercial market
opportunities for chemical lasers, so
DoD had to provide the vast majority of
funding for components, subsystems
and the laser. Second, the chemicals
themselves were toxic and large volumes
were needed, driving system size and
safety issues. Chemical lasers themselves
fell out of favor because of these opera-
tional concerns, but from a technologi-
cal standpoint, the HEL community
continues to leverage the many suc-
cesses and lessons learned in that era.
Fiber lasers are much smaller and
cleaner than chemical lasers, and the
demand for fiber lasers has exploded in
the last 10 years, thanks in great part to
two industries – material processing and
communications. The material process-
ing industry uses fiber lasers to accu-
rately cut, drill and weld anything from
car parts to computers. Meanwhile,
most voice and data communications
travel through fiber optic cables. This
has created an over $2-billion-dollar
commercial fiber laser industry that can
be leveraged by the defense industry.
If the Air Force’s deployment of
Raytheon’s HELWS is successful, lower
power systems that can kill drones could
proliferate quickly in the coming years.
Feedback from the Air Force will help
improve the performance of the system
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
50 Years_2571 Mini 5/9/2018 11:51 AM Page 1

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 Lasers and Optics
A Polaris MRZR ATV modified by Raytheon to carry a high-energy laser weapon system.
High-energy laser weapon mounted on a highly mobile ground vehicle.
so it can one day deal with threats other
than just drones. We also plan to drive
down costs, as our manufacturing
process and supply base are improved.
How Do High-Energy Lasers Work?
How do high-energy lasers work, any-
way? At the simplest level, electrical
power is used to generate a laser beam,
getting rid of the waste heat from that
process. You also need a system that
12
knows where to point the laser beam
and can hold it precisely on the target
for long enough to kill it. Of course, this
description oversimplifies what is a so-
phisticated series of steps.
It all starts with a radar somewhere –
typically on the platform itself or in an
adjacent platform – that sends a mes-
sage to say: ‘there is something out
there that might be a threat.’ The laser
system slews and points in the direction
www.aerodefensetech.com
of the threat. A camera looks at the
threat, often providing a better, higher-
resolution picture than the radar could
provide. The decision-maker then deter-
mines whether the object is a threat
that must be engaged.
Once that decision is made, the beam
control system engages sensors to en-
sure that the target is precisely tracked
despite motion of both the platform
and the target. Based on prior knowl-
edge of the identified target, the most
vulnerable point is selected – either
manually or via automation. The beam
control system ensures that the high en-
ergy laser continues to hit the same
point on the target with high precision
until the target is neutralized.
To further understand how the sys-
tem works, it helps to look at the four
subsystems that make up the HEL.
First, there is the power subsystem,
which reconditions electrical power to
whatever voltage is needed to drive the
laser. The power can come from the
platform that the laser is mounted on,
such as a destroyer ship, or from
lithium-ion batteries, like those in the
Polaris MRZR ATV that was adapted.
Then there is the thermal subsystem.
It removes the large amount of waste
heat generated by the laser system and
disposes of it in a way that doesn’t de-
grade the performance of the laser.
The third subsystem is the laser beam
itself, one of the most complicated parts
of the whole system. In the first step, ar-
rays of thousands of low power semicon-
ductor diode lasers, each similar to a laser
pointer, convert the electrical power into
divergent beams of laser light. In the
next step, each fiber laser acts as a bright-
ness converter, efficiently converting the
divergent diode light beams into highly
directional fiber laser beams. A range of
different techniques are used to effi-
ciently combine the multiple beams
from multiple fiber lasers into a single,
high-power, low-divergence beam.
Two of the main beam-combining
techniques are spectral and coherent
beam combining. With coherent beam
combining, sensors measure a distorted
probe laser beam at, or near, the target,
then use algorithms to provide phase
corrections and compensate for the dis-
tortions. Matching phase corrections
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
 Lasers and Optics

can then be applied to individual fiber laser beams comprising

the high-energy laser beam, correcting for the distortions in
that high-power laser beam.
Spectral beam combining provides a simpler technique for
generating low to moderate power level laser beams (up to
~50 kW-class). But for higher power lasers in the presence of
atmospheric distortion, a separate adaptive optics system is re-
quired, including components that are unproven for long
term operation in field environments. Both techniques are
still being developed and refined across the industry. But co-
herent beam combining may have more advantages, so our
current system uses that technique.
The fourth subsystem, beam control, serves a critical role:
pointing the beam precisely at the chosen aim point on the
target with sufficient intensity to neutralize it. Any jitter in
the position of impact on the target is equivalent to a lower
laser power that will take longer to kill the target.

Targeting and Optics

Raytheon’s high-energy laser weapon system uses a modi-
fied version of our Multi-Spectral Targeting System, or MTS, to
hold the laser beam on a target with ultra-high precision. The
MTS, an electro-optical and infrared sensor commonly seen
on manned and unmanned aircraft, makes for a near-ideal ef-
fective beam control system. A highly integrated design phi-
losophy makes our HEL system more robust, providing lower
jitter than other beam control systems.
In addition to the four subsystems, future laser systems may
also need adaptive optics. To understand adaptive optics,
imagine being outside on a hot day. As you look at the hori-
zon, the image becomes blurry or distorted. The same distor-
tion effect happens to a laser beam as it moves towards its tar-
get – it becomes distorted and can start to break up. If you are
close to the ground, dealing with threats at a similar altitude,
adaptive optics becomes important. To solve this challenge,
there are different adaptive optical techniques that can be
used with the two, previously mentioned beam combining
techniques.
There will be more challenges to overcome as lasers move to
the field and towards volume manufacturing. Since the tim-
ing of a strong demand signal from the government has been
uncertain, the defense industry hasn’t yet invested in large-
scale manufacturing infrastructure for laser weapons. At
Raytheon, we are drawing on existing manufactured compo-
nents as much as possible – leveraging our MTS production fa-
cility, as well as readily-available fiber lasers from established
commercial manufacturers. In this way, we can lower the ad-
ditional investment needed to reach volume production.
The next few years will help determine whether high-en-
ergy lasers become a staple of the battlefield. The upcoming
field deployment, as well as further development of the tech-
nology, will provide important milestones in the future of
laser weapon systems.
This article was written by Iain McKinnie, Principal Engineer for
the High-Energy Laser Weapon System, Raytheon Company (Mc-
Kinney, TX). For more information, visit http://info.
hotims.com/76504-501.

Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-868 13

 Advanced Assembly Solutions for the
Airbus RACER Joined-Wing Configuration
C
ompound helicopters, featur-
ing lateral rotors as well as a
primary rotor, are increas-
ingly seen as the future of ro-
torcraft design. Capable of supporting a
range of service applications, com-
pound rotorcraft have the potential to
deliver increased efficiencies and
higher speeds relative to traditional ro-
torcraft. The Rapid And Cost Effective
Rotorcraft (RACER) demonstrator is
being developed by Airbus Helicopters
14
(AH) to further validate the compound
rotorcraft configuration. AH have cho-
sen to employ a joined-wing design,
which increases the stiffness relative to
a traditional wing design. The RACER
design also includes two lateral rotors,
mounted aft of the Nacelles at the out-
board extent of the wings, as depicted
in Figure 1.
Two assembly methodologies were
considered for the RACER wing struc-
tures – determinate assembly or tradi-
www.aerodefensetech.com
tional assembly set by jigs. Determinate
assembly, also known as ‘part-to-part’ or
‘jig-less’ assembly relies on the precision
manufacturing of a few critical features,
within the definition of each child part,
that allow interfacing items to be accu-
rately positioned. This approach signifi-
cantly reduces the importance of an as-
sembly jig, which may only be required
to support the mass of the wing struc-
ture. Resultant jig structures may be
more cost-effective given requirements
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
 MILITARY AND AEROSPACE
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 Rotocraft Technology
Figure 1. Airbus RACER conceptual design
on their ability to set part positions are
much less stringent. This approach can
also reduce the need for assembly pro-
cessing, deliver a shorter build duration,
and reduce the lead-time for assembly
tooling. Conversely, the requirement to
include precision location features
within component definitions can trans-
fer cost into the manufacturing
processes. Equally, significant analysis of
3D tolerance stack-ups must be com-
pleted to confirm the assembly can meet
geometrical requirements.
The traditional method of assembling
wings is to employ jig structures that
have been precisely calibrated to ensure
they can accurately locate child parts
within the wing assembly and allow as-
sembly processing tasks to be com-
pleted. Datum features of items within
wing assemblies will contact ‘pick-ups’,
within the jig structure, to minimize the
impact of manufacturing tolerances on
the position of parts within assemblies.
This approach reduces the requirement
for precision manufactured parts but
may transfer cost into the assembly
process. The traditional method of as-
sembling wings, using precision jigs,
was selected for the production of the
RACER wings in order to remove com-
plexity and cost from the manufacture
of the novel, composite items within
the structures. The design of the tooling
required to facilitate assembly of the
joined-wing structures is also high-
lighted.
Employing matched tooling has been
proposed to aid the mounting of the
16
joined-wing structure to the fuselage,
ensuring the independently built wing
structures can be successfully assembled
by replicating the interface with the
fuselage. The matched tooling configu-
ration was debated and could be de-
signed either as a one-piece tool or a
modular version. The decision signifi-
cantly affects the overall wing assembly
processes.
Given the complexity of the wing
product, three-dimensional (3D) toler-
ance analysis methods were needed to
perform the analysis and make an in-
formed decision. Several 3D tolerance
methods were suggested. Homogeneous
Transformation Method (HTM) was se-
lected to perform the variation propaga-
tion analysis.
Overview of RACER Compound
Helicopter
The compound helicopter RACER was
developed, as part of the Clean Sky 2
European research program, in an at-
tempt to fill the mobility gap between
conventional helicopters and airplanes.
This Vertical Take-Off and Landing
(VTOL) aircraft should ensure more effi-
cient emergency and search and rescue
services, as well as improving citizen
mobility by offering faster gate to gate
passenger transport.
Conventional helicopters offer verti-
cal take-off and landing capability but
their flight speed, limited by the aero-
dynamics of the main rotor, is substan-
tially lower than traditional fixed-
winged aircraft. In fact, the stall of the
www.aerodefensetech.com
retreating blade and the shock wave
generation on the advancing blade
bound the rotor rotational speed in
cruise, and consequently limit the heli-
copter maximum advancing speed.
The most promising concepts to over-
come these limitations are the converti-
plane and the compound helicopter. In
a convertiplane or tiltrotor, the rotor is
tilted perpendicularly to the flight tra-
jectory to provide thrust during cruise
flight while a fixed-wing provides the
required lift. In a compound helicopter,
the main rotor is fixed, providing lift
and thrust in cruise flight, but fixed
wing (lift compounding) and/or
thruster (thrust compounding) are
added to off-load the rotor during hori-
zontal flight. The reduction of lift and
thrust load required from the rotor al-
lows a decrease of its rotational speed
and a consequent increment of the air-
craft speed limit.
The RACER is a medium class rotor-
craft with a cruise speed exceeding 220
kt. The compound architecture consists
of a joined-wing lifting system support-
ing two pushing propellers providing
thrust, yawing control and balancing
the torque generated by the main rotor,
(Figure 1). A mechanical transmission
transfers power from the two turboshaft
engines under the main rotor to the lat-
eral propellers. Each upper wing (UW)
structure, therefore, houses a drive shaft
and relative transmission connections
inside.
An H-shape tail was selected to im-
prove lateral maneuverability and re-
duce the susceptibility to rotor and
wing wakes. New technologies were
implemented to enhance the aircraft
efficiency such as advanced composite
structural components, optimized
transmission architecture and high
voltage DC generation. The 50% in-
crease in cruise speed compared to
conventional helicopters enables the
RACER to extend the accessible area
within an hour flight for rescue and
medical emergency missions, as well
as for passenger transport.
RACER Joined-Wing Configuration
A joined-wing configuration was se-
lected by AH to realize the lift com-
pounding system of the RACER com-
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
 REGISTER BY 30TH APRIL 2020 TO SAVE £600 • REGISTER BY 29TH MAY 2020 TO SAVE £300 • REGISTER BY 30TH JUNE 2020 TO SAVE £200

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 Rotocraft Technology
1 portion of the global torsion into single
5 2
Figure 2. Racer joined-wing: wing configuration schematic (1. upper wing, 2. lower wing, 3. main landing
gear, 4. stub wing, 5. lateral gear box nacelle)
Hinge interface Upper Wing Structure
with Fuselage
Hinge interface
with Fuselage
Lower Wing Structure
View looking rearwards on LHS Joined Wing Assembly in flight orientation
Fairings not shown where neccesary to identify hinge positions
Figure 3. RACER joined-wing assembly overview
pound helicopter. The joined-wing is
defined as a staggered bi-plane configu-
ration with straight UW and lower wing
(LW) structures at each side of the heli-
copter, being connected at their tip as
shown in Figure 2.
UW and LW structures feature op-
posed dihedral and sweep angles with a
positive stagger arrangement at their
roots, forming a triangular framework
in both front and top views. The upper
wing is connected to the upper fuselage
whereas the lower one is connected to
the stub wing part of the lower fuselage.
Lateral pushing propellers are located at
the wing joint region, behind the trail-
ing edges, offering improved character-
istics in terms of passenger safety and
crashworthiness.
18
FWD
3 4
(Forward)
Upper Wing Flap
Nacelle
C and the main gearbox are housed.
B Lower Wing Flap
Wing to Wing Hinge
View on arrow C illustrating wing sweep
Joined-wings are generally character-
ized by higher aerodynamic efficiencies
than traditional wing configurations due
to the reduced induced drag, along with
an increased structural efficiency owing
to the global deformation behavior of
the double wing structure. The joined-
wing shows considerably larger stiffness
on the vertical plane (flapping plane),
but lower stiffness in the horizontal
plane (feathering plane), in comparison
with a traditional cantilever wing of
equal total lift. This is consistent with
the higher inertial and aerodynamic
loads acting on the wing longitudinal
plane of the compound helicopter and
the stiffness requirement on the longitu-
dinal plane imposed by the driveshaft
and drive system deflection limits.
www.aerodefensetech.com
Torsional stiffness is enhanced by the
wing connection and the staggered
wing arrangement, which converts a
wing bending. The joined-wing archi-
tecture reacts to bending loads on the
longitudinal plane as a triangular beam
system, with the wings mainly sub-
jected to tensile and compressive loads.
Additional superimposed local bending,
shear and torsion stress characteristics
are introduced by the aerodynamic lift
distribution on the wing skin, flap actu-
ations and propeller thrust.
The axial nature of the upper and
lower wing loadings is an indication of
structural efficiency and promotes
weight reduction, as the entire wing
section contributes to load carrying.
Owing to the reduced portion of bend-
ing load carried, the suggested joined-
wing configuration does not require
structural continuity inside the fuse-
lage, as conventional cantilever wings
do, and the wing to fuselage attach-
ment can be realized by simple hinges
that transfer transverse and longitudi-
nal loads only. This minimizes the space
allocation of the wing structure in the
upper fuselage deck where the engines
Moreover, the joined-wing distributes
the lifting and propulsion loads be-
tween the upper fuselage deck and the
subfloor structure, reducing local struc-
tural stresses and mass of such fuselage
components.
The upper wing is essential for hous-
ing the propeller drive shaft and its
sweep and anhedral angles are a conse-
quence of the respective positions of the
main gearbox and the lateral propeller
(Figure 2). The geometric characteristics
of the lower wing are mainly defined by
the propeller location and the position
of the stub wing, in turn determined by
the position of the main landing gear,
which is housed in the stub wing when
retracted. Those constraints result in the
peculiar staggered configuration with a
lower wing positioned aft of the upper
wing at their roots.
In addition, the LW provides a physi-
cal barrier between the passenger area
and the rotating lateral propellers, acts as
additional buoyancy in case of ditching,
and as a safety measure preventing the
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
 Rotocraft Technology

upper wing from breaking and obstruct- challenges compared to conventional, This article was adapted from SAE
ing the cabin door in case of a crash. cantilever wings. In this scenario, inno- Technical Paper 2019-01-1884. To obtain
From an aerodynamic perspective, no ef- vative building solutions and analyses the full technical paper and access more
ficiency increase is achieved in this con- have to be implemented to develop an than 200,000 resources for the aerospace,
figuration due to the non-slender wing efficient and robust assembly process automotive, and commercial vehicle in-
geometries and the airflow disruption for the non-conventional, RACER dustries, visit the SAE MOBILUS site at:
caused by the main rotor and the lateral joined-wing structure. http://saemobilus.sae.org.
propellers. However, wing staggering
causes a favorable aerodynamic interac-
tion between the wings and reduces
downwash during hovering.
The joined-wing assembly consists of
UW, LW and Nacelle structures. Each
UW or LW structure includes a flap for
trimming and stability purposes. The
UW and LW structures interface with
the fuselage separately via hinges, iden-
tified in Figure 3. The two wings are
joined at their outboard tips through a
connecting structure, known as a 'cra-
dle', which also supports the nacelle.
The cradle is part of the UW structure
and features two lugs to realize the con-
nection with the LW.
Spherical bearings and sliding
bushes are utilized at various locations
to mitigate translations and deforma-
tions of the wing structures relative to
each other, and to the fuselage during
flight operations. A schematic of the
RACER wing architecture is shown in
Figure 3. Connecting the wings using
spherical bearings ensures an isostatic
behavior on the wing system vertical
plane and the hinge position was opti-
mized to maximize the stiffness of the
joined structure. Loads along the heli-
copter longitudinal axis direction are
transferred from the wings to the fuse-
lage using dedicated X-trusses, allow-
ing the hinges to carry only lateral and
vertical shear. The gearbox located
within the Nacelle, driving the pro-
peller, is mechanically connected to
the UW component of the wing to
wing joint by an isostatic arrange-
ment. Axial load is reacted by a dedi-
cated X-truss between the gearbox and
the cradle within the UW structure.
Preliminary FE and CFD analyses con-
firmed the joined-wing as an efficient
solution for a high-speed helicopter
based on the compound formula with
lateral propellers such as the RACER.
However, the design and assembly of a
statically indeterminate structure as a
joined-wing presents some additional

Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-871 19

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DIGITAL
TWINS
How The
Digital Replica
Concept
Is Used By
Robotic
Systems
A
V&R's robotic systems are de-
signed to automate surface fin-
ishing (profiling, polishing,
blending, deburring) on criti-
cal parts of aircraft engines, such as blades.
These systems operate using dedicated
software called BrainWave which orches-
trates the interactions between all of the
robotic system’s components. For several
years, AV&R has been developing Brain-
Wave soft-
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
ware to facilitate the use of the robotic sys-
tem by its operators. One of the features
developed is visualization of the system
following the concept of digital twins.
What is the concept of digital twins?
How does this innovative concept apply
in the case of robotic systems for complex
industries such as aeronautics? What are
its concrete uses? And how do digital
twins improve the use and performance
of robotic systems?
Definition of Digital Twins
A digital twin is a virtual
replica of a living or
non-living physi-
cal entity.
By
www.aerodefensetech.com
BrainWave software creates a digital twin of a
physical manufacturing cell containing a robot.
linking the physical and virtual worlds,
the data of a physical finishing process
is easily disseminated and captured to
create a digital replica of the actual
process. Virtual replication can thus
exist simultaneously with the physical
entity and allows it to model future
processes that will be implemented.
Simulation and Visualization of
Physical Elements
The BrainWave software allows users to
put into practice the concept of digital
twins by designing a replica of the physi-
cal cell containing the robot. In practical
terms, the operator of the robotic system
can see on his/her computer the structure
and the physical elements of the cell such
as the robot, the motors, the surface fin-
ishing tools, the elements physically
supporting the parts in the cell, etc.
Beyond visualizing the physi-
cal elements of the robotic system,
BrainWave has made it possible to
model the limits of the cell, allow-
ing it to represent the potential col-
lisions and the limits of the robot's
movements. This visualization rep-
resents a notable aid to the pro-
gramming of the robotic system.
Simulation and Visualization of
the Workpiece
Parts processed in AV&R robotic
systems are said to be critical be-
cause they require very tight toler-
ances. The upstream visualization
21
 Digital Design Tools

of process execution allows for an accu-

rate prediction of actions and thus re-
duces the risk of parts loss. All actions
concerning the workpiece are repro-
duced in BrainWave, whether it be
physical phenomena such as removal of
material, change of surface finish, or
even the heat generated. Modelling
these parameters is an essential tool for
predicting process execution. Thus,
process variations are facilitated and re-
sult in the automation of process recipe
generation.

A Replica of the Functioning of the

Robotic System
Being able to simulate the actions of
Digital twin software reveals a potential collision between parts while testing a manufacturing operation. the robotic system makes it possible to
validate the correct functioning and to
identify any problems beforehand.
BrainWave views the entire sequence
and validates the risk of collision with
cell equipment. It also makes it possi-
ble to identify any singularities in the
robot's movements. The nodes and
positions that make up the robot's
path between two workstations are
easily visualized, giving the operator
better control. This visualization con-
fers other advantages such as the re-
duction of robot wear through better
control of the navigation nodes or op-
timization of cycle time (process ex -
ecution).

Real-Time Data Acquisition

Digital twin of a robot virtually executes a machining operation. Beyond the visualization and simu-
lation of the robotic finishing process
execution, Brainwave allows you to
collect in real time and during produc-
tion, essential data concerning the
cell. There are many and varied data:
robot position, applied force, robot
speed, etc. The utility of this real-time
data acquisition is to better under-
stand the steps performed by the sys-
tem and, thus, to optimally predict
maintenance interventions.

Advantages for Robotic Automation

With the possible visualization and
simulation in BrainWave, the concept
of digital twins applied to robotic sys-
tems offers significant advantages. For
example, the cycle time in the aircraft
engine parts manufacturing or repair in-
Programming the projection of a path in BrainWave. dustry being critical, the optimization

22 www.aerodefensetech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020

 Digital Design Tools

A robot performs a blade profiling and polishing operation that was tested and A robot performs fillet radius polishing on a large part after the process was
optimized using digital twin software. tested and optimized using digital twin software.

of travel times within the robotic cell re-

sults in significant time savings.
Predicting changes in parameters
such as surface finish or even heat are
an essential aid in creating new process
recipes. Indeed, the data of these pa-
rameters allow to create models that au-
tomate elements of the process recipe.
Preventive maintenance is also a di-
rect consequence of the use of the digi-
tal twins concept for a robotic cell. With
real-time data collection, trends are pre-
dictable and allow proactive mainte-
nance actions, to reduce production
downtime or to optimize the life of sys-

Ultraminiature Circular
tem components.
AV&R has adopted the concept of dig-
ital twins via its BrainWave software,
thus optimizing the execution of surface
finishing processes at various levels. In
Connector Solutions
addition, digital replica is a real aid to
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Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-872 23

 RF & Microwave Technology
A
dditive manufacturing can
reduce the time and material
costs in a design cycle and
enable on-demand printing
of customized parts. New multi-material
3D printers that can print both metal
and dielectric materials enable the addi-
tive manufacturing of antennas and RF
components. Developments in software
are critical to leveraging this capability;
3 mm dielectric height
3 mm trace
1.5 mm trace
m
23.7 m
m
55.9 m
1 mm trace, 350 μm gap
Figure 1. CAD view of a stripline Marchand balun with two stripline inner layers (green and red) and a top
layer coplanar waveguide section (blue).
Null
Figure 2. CAD view of a four-monopole array with an integrated stripline beamforming network.
24
Practical
3D Printing of
Antennas and RF
Electronics
good tools allow more effort to go to-
wards creation than implementation.
Three devices are described in detail
in this article to demonstrate the 3D
printing of RF components. First, a Mar-
chand balun is presented, demonstrat-
ing rapid prototyping of a complex,
multilayer RF circuit. Next, a monopole
array is shown with an integrated beam-
steering network and radome to show
1.5 mm via diameter
m
23.7 m
Main Lobe
www.aerodefensetech.com
rapid prototyping of a complete an-
tenna system. Finally, a bowtie antenna
with rounded corners is presented,
showing good performance in the Ku-
band.
The devices were made with a Voxel8
printer and materials.
Design Process
Several existing tools and sites provide
the ability to customize mechanical
structures; this concept is expanded into
the RF domain with software that uses a
high-level design parameter to create the
circuit, model the performance, and cre-
ate Computer-Assisted Manufacturing
(CAM) files. By intelligently leveraging
this process, the design can be readily up-
dated or customized after the initial de-
velopment. A Computer-Assisted Design
(CAD) tool may further modify the struc-
ture to customize the mechanical inter-
face and a machine toolpathing code (a
slicer) is used to translate the CAM files to
a format the printer can use. The mono-
pole array with an integrated beam-form-
ing network and radome is specifically
used to illustrate the process that is used
for each component presented.
Design tool. A custom frequency-do-
main circuit simulation code has been
developed that uses a schematic input to
model a circuit’s S-parameters. The de-
sign tool handles variables, calculations,
and can perform optimizations; the
modeled results for the monopole array
Audrius Merfeldas/Shutterstock.com
are plotted. The tool can automatically
generate the layout from the schematic
and can create stereolithography (STL)
files for both the metal and plastic mate-
rials. The overall design process is simpli-
fied significantly since the same sche-
matic/tool is both modeling the device
and creating all of the CAM files without
requiring a CAD-specific tool.
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
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 RF & Microwave Technology

Components and Systems

10 Three example components are pre-
sented in this section to validate the
Realized Gain (dBi)

performance of the tools and hardware:

0 an L-band balun, an S-band antenna
array, and a Ku-band antenna element.
Marchand balun. A Marchand balun
Measured - Broadside
-10 is a reasonably broadband device made
HFSS - Broadside
out of coupled lines and used in many RF
Measured - End Fire
HFSS - End Fire applications. This design used broadside
-20 coupled striplines (Figure 1) that intrinsi-
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 cally isolate the lines from stray cou-
Frequency (GHz) pling. The printed structure was wrapped
in copper tape to provide the upper and
Figure 3. Measured and modeled gain of a printed bowtie antenna. lower ground planes. Three through-
hole connectors were attached using
conductive ink and epoxy. The design
3 had good performance as a balun over
the design band of 1.5 GHz – 2 GHz.
Monopole array with integrated
Permittivity

beam former. A lightweight Wi-Fi di-

2.5
2 vide a null (Figure 2) that can be useful
10
Figure 4. Permittivity of different color PLA samples. Inset shows a focused beam system used to measure
the samples.
The monopole array schematic has
three sets of variables: design, material,
and geometry. The design variables are
the inputs most likely to be modified
such as the center frequency of opera-
tion. The material variables are an ex-
ample of inputs that change infre-
quently; for example, if the design
process shifted to a different plastic. Fi-
nally, a series of calculations is needed
that defines the geometry, and altering
these fundamentally defines a different
product; these calculate the dipole po-
sitions, line widths, and line lengths.
CAD tool. If needed, the mechanical
design can be further modified. Open-
SCAD, a free CAD tool, uses code to de-
scribe mechanical structures; for exam-
ple, the location of the mounting holes is
easily modified through a few straightfor-
ward variables. This simplifies the process
of integrating the design to a new plat-
form. While this process simplifies minor
white
orange
grey
black
12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
Frequency (GHz)
changes in form factor, care must be
taken not to break the RF performance.
Slicing tool. The final software tool
needed is a machine toolpathing algo-
rithm (slicer) to translate the mechani-
cal CAM files into the machine control
language of the 3D printer. These
prints used Euclid, which is the slicer
provided by Voxel8. Euclid dynami-
cally modulates the plastic layer
heights to ensure the accurate spatial
positioning of the silver ink, which is
important for the Marchand balun. Eu-
clid automatically performs subtractive
Boolean operations that create cavities
in the plastic to ensure proper clear-
ances for printed silver features, electri-
cal components, and printhead geome-
tries. Performing the Boolean operations
in the slicer simplifies the require-
ments of STL generation for the design
tools, enabling the use of many differ-
ent 3D design processes.
rectional array was constructed with
mounting holes for a 3DR Solo UAV.
Monopoles were used to keep wind
loading low. The device was con-
structed to be directional and to pro-
for improving the link, direction find-
ing, or interference suppression. The lo-
cation of the four quarter-wave mono-
poles is calculated based on the design
frequency, and the line lengths of the
combiner provide a true time delay
sum in the desired direction. The de-
vice had a good match and pattern. The
monopoles for this array are 31 mm
tall. The three outer monopoles are a
half-wavelength from the center ele-
ment and 120° in angle from each
other. The dielectric height for the
stripline section was 4 mm.
Ku-band bowtie. A bowtie antenna
was constructed to characterize the
printer’s ability to make higher-fre-
quency antennas (Figure 3). The an-
tenna was modeled with ANSYS HFSS
and good agreement was found through
Ku-band.
Capabilities of the Printer
While the concepts described in this
article are by no means restricted to a
single process, it is worthwhile to exam-
ine the specific process used to validate
the designs.
The permittivity and conductivity of
the materials used were measured in a

26 www.aerodefensetech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020

 RF & Microwave Technology

variety of ways and all showed agree- to revolutionize the design, supply, and This article was written by Gregory Kiesel,
ment. All measurements were taken sustainment phases of an acquisition Philip Bowden, Kevin Cook, Matt Habib,
with printed material (as opposed to program. A design process was pre- Jeramy Marsh, David Reid, Cameron
raw stock). sented that demonstrates how this tech- Phillips, and Brad Baker of Georgia Tech Re-
The plastic used for these prints is nology can be utilized to support cus- search Institute, Atlanta, GA. For more in-
polylactic acid (PLA), which is popular tomization in the field. formation, visit www.gtri.gatech.edu.
for prototyping in part because it has
less toxic fumes than other plastics.
The initial measurement used a fo-
cused beam system (Figure 4) to meas-
ure the permittivity for four colors of
PLA, each approximately 3.1 mm
thick. These values were validated with
a coaxial airline technique and
through the measure-model agreement
of the various RF circuits.
Voxel8 Standard Silver ink, a room-
temperature-curing silver conductive
ink, was used for these prints. The ven-
dor lists the DC conductivity as 3.45
MS/m. A 250-m-thick board with a 1.5-
mm-wide, 71-mm-long microstrip line
constructed and measured to back out
the conductivity of the silver ink
showed good agreement using 3.45
MS/m in a simulation that agrees with
the measurement. For reference, pure
silver has a conductivity of 61 MS/m.
When designing printed circuit No Boundaries!
boards, it is common to consider the
trace and space tolerances; that is, the When engineers need resistors for critical missions in a no-replace
accuracy to which one can maintain a environment like Mars, they choose State of the Art. We are aboard
desired trace width and the gap between three Mars orbiters: Odyssey, MRO, and Maven. We are aboard four
traces. Because the 3D printer deposits rovers: Pathfinder, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity, with another
the ink with a 0.25-mm nozzle, it
rover to be launched in 2020. And we are aboard the InSight lander
should be expected that small traces
might not print as designed. The ven- that is studying the interior of the planet. Working toward a manned
dor recommends 0.5-mm lines for gen- mission to Mars, NASA chose State of the Art resistors. Whose
eral prints (two passes); however, RF cir- resistors will you choose for next mission?
cuits generally require more design
flexibility.
Three test boards were printed to Mission Critical?
measure the trace and space tolerances Choose State of the Art resistors.
and were characterized with a Keyence
digital optical microscope used as a pro-
filometer. The gap measurements were
averaged along the lines; at 100 μm, the State of the Art, Inc.
lines were sporadically shorted. Below 1 RESISTIVE PRODUCTS
mm, line widths had poor accuracy, al- Made
though from an RF standpoin, it’s ac- in the
th USA.
ceptable above 800 μm. Gaps at 100 μm
were not reliable but accuracy was good
above 100 μm.

Conclusion
Useful RF and antenna structures can
be 3D-printed, which has the potential

Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-874 27

 RF & Microwave Technology

Photonic Microwave Generation Using On-Chip Optical Frequency Combs

I n our information society, the synthe-

sis, distribution, and processing of
radio and microwave signals happen
ubiquitously in wireless networks,
telecommunications, and radars. The
current tendency is to use carriers in
higher frequency bands, especially with
looming bandwidth bottlenecks due to
demands for 5G and the Internet of
Things. Microwave photonics, a combi-
nation of microwave engineering and
optoelectronics, might offer a solution.
A key building block of microwave
photonics is optical frequency combs,
which provide hundreds of equidistant
and mutually coherent laser lines. They
are ultrashort optical pulses emitted with
a stable repetition rate that corresponds
precisely to the frequency spacing of
comb lines. The photodetection of the
pulses produces a microwave carrier.
In recent years, there has been signif-
icant progress on chip-scale frequency
combs generated from nonlinear mi- The silicon nitride photonic chips used for frequency comb and photonic microwave generation. (Credit:
croresonators driven by continuous- Junqiu Liu and Jijun He, EPFL)
wave lasers. These frequency combs rely
on the formation of dissipative Kerr circuit. Using this technology, the gen- traviolet stepper lithography, gives truly
solitons, which are ultrashort coherent erated coherent soliton pulses have rep- spectacular performance in terms of low
light pulses circulating inside optical etition rates in both the microwave K- loss, which is not attainable using con-
microresonators. Because of this, these (~20 GHz, used in 5G) and X-band (~10 ventional nanofabrication techniques,”
frequency combs are commonly called GHz, used in radars). The resulting mi- said Junqiu Liu, who leads the fabrica-
soliton microcombs. crowave signals feature phase noise tion of silicon nitride nanophotonic
Generating soliton microcombs re- properties on par with or even lower chips at EPFL’s Center of MicroNano -
quires nonlinear microresonators and than commercial electronic microwave Technology (CMi). “These microcombs,
these can be directly built on-chip using synthesizers. The demonstration of in- and their microwave signals, could be
CMOS nanofabrication technology. The tegrated soliton microcombs at mi- critical elements for building fully inte-
co-integration with electronic circuitry crowave repetition rates bridges the grated, low-noise microwave oscillators
and integrated lasers paves the path to fields of integrated photonics, nonlin- for future architectures of radars and in-
comb miniaturization, allowing a host ear optics, and microwave photonics. formation networks.”
of applications in metrology, spec- The research team achieved a level of The team is working with collabora-
troscopy, and communications. optical losses low enough to allow light tors in the US to develop hybrid-inte-
A research team has now demon- to propagate nearly 1 meter in a wave- grated soliton microcomb modules that
strated integrated soliton microcombs guide that is only 1 micrometer in di- combine chip-scale semiconductor
with repetition rates as low as 10 GHz. ameter — 100 times smaller than that of lasers. These highly compact micro-
This was achieved by significantly low- a human hair. This loss level is still combs can impact many applications
ering the optical losses of integrated more than three orders of magnitude such as transceivers in datacenters,
photonic waveguides based on silicon higher than the value in optical fibers LiDAR, compact optical atomic clocks,
nitride, a material already used in but represents the lowest loss in any optical coherence tomography, mi-
CMOS microelectronic circuits and that tightly confining waveguide for inte- crowave photonics, and spectroscopy.
has also been used in the past decade to grated nonlinear photonics to date. This work was done by Junqiu Liu, Labo-
build photonic integrated circuits that Such low loss is the result of a new ratory of Photonics and Quantum Measure-
guide laser light on-chip. manufacturing process developed by ments, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lau-
The researchers were able to manufac- team scientists called silicon nitride sanne, Switzerland. For more information,
ture silicon nitride waveguides with the photonic Damascene process. “This contact Junqiu Liu at junqiu.liu@
lowest loss in any photonic integrated process, when carried out using deep-ul- epfl.ch; +41 21 693 39 77.

28 www.aerodefensetech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020

Tech Briefs

DDDAMS-based Urban Surveillance and Crowd Control via

UAVs and UGVs
Investigating algorithmic approaches to create scalable, robust, multi-scale, and effective urban sur-
veillance and crowd control strategies using UAVs and UGVs.
Air Force Research Laboratory, Arlington, Virginia

A comprehensive planning and con-

trol framework was designed and
developed based on dynamic-data-dri-
ven, adaptive multi-scale simulation
(DDDAMS) (see illustration) where dy-
namic data is incorporated into simu-
lation, simulation steers the measure-
ment process for data update and
system control, and an appropriate
level of simulation fidelity is selected
based on the time constraints for eval-
uating alternative control policies
using simulation.
The illustration shows an overview of
the proposed DDDAMS-based planning
and control framework for surveillance
and crowd control via UAVs and UGVs
that was developed and refined in this
project. The major components of the
framework include: 1) real system (UAVs,
UGVs, human crowd, and environment);
2) integrated planner; 3) integrated con-
troller; and 4) decision module for
DDDAMS. The proposed framework was
aimed to enhance the surveillance and
crowd control capability of UAVs and
UGVs in terms of their performance on
crowd detection, tracking, and motion
planning. In particular, the crowd cover-
age percentage was considered as the
measure of effectiveness (MOE) in this
work. An overview of different compo-
nents is provided in the following para-
graphs.
Integrated Controller: The integrated
controller is in charge of effective and ef-
ficient control of UAVs and UGVs,
where the effectiveness is supported by
the integrated planner, and the compu-
tational efficiency is supported by the
decision module for DDDAMS. To con-
trol UAVs and UGVs, the integrated con-
troller performs four major functions: 1)
crowd detection, 2) crowd tracking, 3)
motion planning of UAV/UGV, and 4)
interaction with the real system.
To achieve interactions with the real
system, the hardware interface in the in-

Decision Module for DDDAMS

Selected Fidelity Level No Yes

Fidelity Assignment Fidelity Selection Catastrophical
Algorithm Algorithm Abnormality
Available Computational
Resource Abnormal
Assigned Deviated
Crowd Data
Fidelity Level Performance
Historical
Crowd Data
Database

Integrated Planner Integrated Controller

Strategy Maker Command Generator

Crowd Crowd Motion Crowd Crowd Motion
Detection Tracking Planning Detection Tracking Planning Human
Module Module Module Module Observed Module Predicted Module Operator
Observed Predicted Crowd Locations at Crowd Locations at
Crowd Locations Crowd Locations Time t Time t+Δt

Vision-based Data GPS Data

Hardware Interface
Strategy 1 Strategy 2 Strategy n (Transmitter/Receiver) Control Commands
Simulation Simulation Simulation
Received Sensory Data Transmitted Control Commands

Real System
Crowd
UAVs
Statistical Analysis

Interruption
Selected Control Strategy Task

UGVs

Proposed DDDAMS-based planning and control framework for surveillance and crowd control via UAVs and UGVs.

Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020 www.aerodefensetech.com 29

 Tech Briefs
tegrated controller acts as a medium to
collect sensory data (e.g. vision data and
global positioning system (GPS) data)
from the real system, passes them to the
command generator, receives control
commands from the motion planning
module, and sends the corresponding
control commands to the real system.
Integrated Planner: The integrated
planner, when invoked, devises an opti-
mal control strategy for UAVs/UGVs
based on predicted system performance
and passes the updated control strategy
to the integrated controller. The inte-
grated planner in the proposed work
was implemented in an agent-based
simulation (ABS) environment, where
the strategy maker selects optimal
strategies for each of the same compo-
nents in the command generator (i.e.
crowd detection, crowd tracking and
motion planning) based on simulation-
based evaluation of alternative strate-
gies against different scenarios.
This work mainly focuses on 1) evalu-
ation of alternative estimation methods
of UAV/UGV locations in t, and 2) eval-
Covariance and Uncertainty Realism in Space Surveillance
and Tracking
Characterizing uncertainty in estimating the state of a resident space object is one of the fundamen-
tals of many space surveillance tasks.
Air Force Space Command, Peterson, Colorado
T he characterization of uncertainty
in the estimate of the state of a res-
ident space object is fundamental to
many space surveillance tasks includ-
ing data association, uncorrelated track
(UCT) resolution, catalog maintenance,
sensor tasking and scheduling, as well
as space situational awareness (SSA)
missions such as conjunction assess-
ments and maneuver detection. Gener-
ally, uncertainties are classified as ei-
ther aleatoric, epistemic, or a mixture
of both. Aleatoric uncertainty is the
natural randomness or physical vari-
ability present in the system or its envi-
ronment and is thus statistical in na-
ture. In contrast, epistemic uncertainty
is uncertainty that is due to limited
data or knowledge.
30
uation of multi-objective weights in
UAV/UGV motion planning. For esti-
mation of UAV/UGV location, the
crowd shape and boundary are charac-
terized first via clustering technique,
followed by the simulation-based evalu-
ation on UAV/UGV locations contin-
gent to different control strategies.
Interactions Among Components:
At a given time point t, when the deci-
sion module for DDDAMS is invoked,
the checking condition (catastrophic
abnormality block) is processed first.
The checking condition determines
whether the current control system
has severe problems, or performance
deviations (predicted vs. real) are too
extreme to recover.
Under these circumstances, the
human operator should interrupt the
real system run. These fatal abnormal-
ities are due to system malfunctions,
human errors, and other issues, which
are out of the scope of this work. Of
interest are the abnormalities where
the actual and predicted system per-
formances deviate significantly, yet
transformation
Depiction of a single Gaussian and its Gaussian sum approximation undergoing a nonlinear transformation.
With respect to some terms, covari-
ance realism means that the uncertainty
in the state of an object can be repre-
sented as a Gaussian random variable
and that the estimated mean and covari-
ance of said Gaussian are the true mean
and true covariance, respectively. Since
www.aerodefensetech.com
every component still works in the
normal condition.
Under the ordinary abnormality case,
the fidelity selection algorithm is in-
voked next. The outputs of the fidelity
selection algorithm are a combination
of different fidelity levels at all consid-
ered crowd regions/cells in terms of in-
formation details (collected via UAV or
UGV) to be incorporated into simula-
tion. In general, simulating group level
behaviors involves coarse scale and re-
quires less information and computa-
tional resources (and time), while the
simulation of detailed individual behav-
ior needs a finer scale of modeling,
more detailed information, and are
more computationally intensive (and
time-consuming).
This work was done by Young-Jun Son,
Jian Liu, and Jyh-Ming Lien of the University
of Arizona for the Air Force Research Labora-
tory. For more information, download the
Technical Support Package (free white
paper) at www.aerodefensetech.com/tsp
under the Machinery & Automation cat-
egory. AFRL-0291
nonlinear
the underlying dynamical processes are
not always linear nor Gaussian, one may
generalize covariance realism to uncer-
tainty realism described by a potentially
non-Gaussian probability density func-
tion. Uncertainty realism requires that
all cumulants (beyond a state and covari-
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020

ance) be properly characterized. The re-
lationship between covariance realism
and uncertainty realism is that the for-
mer is a necessary but not a sufficient
condition for achieving the latter. The
two definitions coincide if the process is
Gaussian.
The achievement of covariance or un-
certainty realism is a challenging prob-
lem due to the complex and numerous
sources of uncertainty. To achieve a
proper characterization of uncertainty,
one must account for the uncertainty
sources in the system and roll these up
into the uncertainty in the estimate at
each needed time. Generic sources of
uncertainties for point objects include
the following:
1. Structural uncertainty or model bias
in the model dynamics;
2. Uncertain parameters found in the
model dynamics (including space en-
vironment) and in the measurement
equation relating the dynamics to
the sensor measurements;
Co-Prime Frequency and Aperture Design for HF
Surveillance, Wideband Radar Imaging, and Nonstationary
Array Processing
The objectives of this research were to develop novel co-prime sampling and array design strategies
that achieve high-resolution estimation of spectral power distributions and signal direction-of-arrivals
(DOAs), and their applications in various surveillance, radar imaging applications, and array processing.
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
A co-prime array uses two uniform
linear subarrays to construct an ef-
fective difference coarray with certain
desirable characteristics, such as a high
number of degrees-of-freedom for DOA
estimation. In this case, the co-prime
array concept was generalized with two
operations. The first operation was
through the compression of the inter-
element spacing of one subarray and
the resulting structure treats the exist-
ing variations of co-prime array config-
urations as well as the nested array
structure as its special cases. The second
operation exploits two displaced subar-
rays, and the resulting co-prime array
structure allows the minimum inter-ele-
ment spacing to be much larger than
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
3. Sensor level errors including meas-
urement noise and sensor and navi-
gation biases;
4. Inverse uncertainty quantification in-
cluding the statistical orbit determina-
tion and bias estimation uncertainty;
5. Propagation of uncertainty;
6. Algorithmic uncertainty or numeri-
cal uncertainty that comes from nu-
merical errors and numerical approx-
imations in a computer model;
7. Cross-tag or misassociation uncertainty;
8. Hardware and software faults/errors.
Additional sources of uncertainty
occur for medium to large objects called
extended body uncertainties. For exam-
ple, an extended body covering several
pixels may have an overly optimistic
(too small) covariance if the uncertainty
of the estimated state only covers the
centroid of the body.
The goal of correctly characterizing or
quantifying uncertainty is not unique to
astrodynamics. Indeed, the currently ac-
the typical half-wavelength require-
ment, making them useful in applica-
tions where a small interelement spac-
ing is infeasible. This allowed derivation
of the analytical expressions for the
coarray aperture, the achievable num-
ber of unique lags, and the maximum
number of consecutive lags for quanti-
tative evaluation, comparison, and de-
sign of co-prime arrays.
The co-prime array, which utilizes a
co-prime pair of uniform linear sub-ar-
rays, provides a systematical means for
sparse array construction. On the other
hand, utilizing spectrum bandwidth in
co-prime array can achieve a number of
advantages. (a) Utilizing multiple fre-
quencies equivalently provides multiple
www.aerodefensetech.com
Tech Briefs
tive field of uncertainty quantification
deals with the same problem in many
other areas of engineering and science.
As stated above, the correct charac-
terization of the uncertainty in the
state of each object is fundamental to
many space surveillance and space sit-
uational awareness missions. The fol-
lowing four examples demonstrate the
importance of covariance and uncer-
tainty realism:
1. Computation of the probability of
collision for conjunction assessment;
2. Data or track association/correlation;
3. Maneuver detection;
4. Sensor tasking and scheduling.
This work was done by Aubrey B. Poore,
Jeffrey M. Aristoff, and Joshua T. Horwood
of Numerica Corporation for the Air Force
Space Command. For more information,
download the Technical Support Pack-
age (free white paper) at www.
aerodefensetech.com/tsp under the In-
formation Science category. AFRL-0292
virtual arrays to achieve a higher num-
ber of degrees of freedom; (b) Fusing
multi-frequency signals improves the
robustness of DOA estimation; and (c)
The use of signal bandwidth and co-
prime array provides DOA-range resolu-
tion for target localization.
In one of the proposed schemes, a co-
prime array is operated at multiple fre-
quencies in order to fill the missing
coarray elements, thereby enabling the
co-prime array to form consecutive coar-
ray lags and effectively utilize all of the
offered degrees of freedom (DOFs) with
subspace-based DOA estimation meth-
ods. In another proposed scheme, a sin-
gle sparse uniform linear array is used to
exploit two or more continuous-wave
31
 Tech Briefs
signals whose frequencies satisfy a co-
prime relationship. This extends the co-
prime array and filtering to a joint spa-
tio-spectral domain, thereby achieving
high flexibility in array structure design
to meet system complexity constraints.
The DOA estimation is obtained using
group sparsity-based compressive sens-
ing techniques. The achievable number
of DOFs is derived for the two-frequency
case, and an upper bound of the avail-
able DOFs is provided for multi-fre-
quency scenarios. The third scheme
considered the frequency diverse array
(FDA) radar, which offers a range-depen-
dent beampattern capability.
The spatial and range resolutions of
an FDA radar are fundamentally limited
by the array geometry and the frequency
offset. This limitation was overcome by
introducing a novel sparsity-based
multi-target localization approach in-
corporating both coprime arrays and co-
Quantifying Autonomous Soaring on a Surveillance and
Communications Relay Mission
Research demonstrates that a surveillance mission is still achievable by unmanned vehicles while per-
forming autonomous soaring.
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
M issions for small unmanned air-
craft (Group 1 and Group 2) in-
clude over-the-hill surveillance and pro-
viding airborne communications relay
points. Greater endurance is almost uni-
versally desired by operators to increase
the time spent on-station performing
the mission and reduce the number and
frequency of takeoffs and landings.
Autonomous soaring techniques were
first proposed by Wharington and refined
by Allen as a method to find convective
thermal updrafts and gain altitude energy.
While several autonomous soaring algo-
rithms have been implemented on un-
manned aircraft and demonstrated signif-
icant endurance gains, the technology of
autonomous soaring has not yet bridged
the gap from research to practical applica-
tion for a mission.
Rather than providing a fixed geo-
metric orbit to continuously track a tar-
get on the ground, an aircraft in au-
32
prime frequency offsets. The covariance
matrix of the received signals correspon-
ding to all sensors and employed fre-
quencies was formulated to generate a
space-frequency virtual difference coar-
ray. The joint DOA and range estimation
was cast as a two-dimensional sparse re-
construction problem and is solved
within the Bayesian compressive sens-
ing framework. The superiority of the
proposed approach in terms of DOA-
range resolution, localization accuracy,
and the number of resolvable targets
were evidently demonstrated.
DOA estimation of a mixture of coher-
ent and uncorrelated targets was per-
formed using sparse reconstruction and
active nonuniform arrays. The data meas-
urements from multiple transmit and re-
ceive elements can be considered as obser-
vations from the sum coarray corresponding
to the physical transmit/receive arrays.
The vectorized covariance matrix of the
Diameter constraint
Airspace
Cylinder
Gliding
(motor off)
Soaring
(motor off)
Loiter orbit
(motor off)
ink
kL
or
tw
Ne
Base
Figure 1. Communications relay CONOP using one UAV performing autonomous soaring
www.aerodefensetech.com
sum coarray observations emulates the
received data at a virtual array whose ele-
ments are given by the difference coarray
of the sum coarray.
Sparse reconstruction is used to fully
exploit the significantly enhanced de-
grees-of-freedom offered by the differ-
ence coarray of the sum coarray for
DOA estimation. Simulated data from
multiple-input multiple-output mini-
mum redundancy arrays and
transmit/receive co- prime arrays were
used for performance evaluation of the
proposed sparsity-based active sensing
approach.
This work was done by Moeness G.
Amin, Fauzia Ahmad, and Yimin D. Zhang
of Villanova University for the Office of
Naval Research. For more information,
download the Technical Support Pack-
age (free white paper) at www.
aerodefensetech.com/tsp under the In-
formation Science category. NRL-0077
Altitude
constraint
Ne
tw
ork
Lin
k
User
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
 Tech Briefs

technologies. Figure 2 shows a command site that is

Comms Relay Payload Imagery Payload out of radio frequency (RF) line of sight (LOS) to a re-
mote unit. The RF blockage could be a mountain
Soaring Airspace Soaring Airspace range, significant distance, urban obstructions, or any
other number of complicating factors. In this scenario,
two unmanned aircraft provide a communication link
between the command base and remote user. Also, the
remote user has direct access to the video product,
since s/he is on the same network.
A typical Group 1 UAV has only two to four hours of

Vid
endurance. If the remote site is one to two flight hours

eo
away from the launch site, this leaves little or no time
on-station actually performing the mission. This re-
search shows how a Group 1 UAV using autonomous
soaring and a solar power system can extend the air-
Base User Target craft’s four hours battery-only endurance to more than
12 hours. This will provide uninterrupted imagery over
Figure 2. Notional imagery and communications relay mission with autonomous soaring. the remote target site.
This work was done by Daniel J. Edwards, Aaron D.
tonomous soaring mode maneuvers into and moves with Kahn, Sam V. Carter, Phillip Jenkins and David Scheiman for the
thermal updrafts. This maneuvering is often believed to be Naval Research Laboratory. For more information, download
counterproductive to a surveillance mission, especially if the the Technical Support Package (free white paper) at
ground target is moving against the wind, since thermals tend www.aerodefensetech.com/tsp under the Machinery & Au-
to drift downwind. However, this research shows a surveil- tomation category. NRL-0078
lance mission is still achievable while performing au-
tonomous soaring.
Cooperative autonomous soaring is a technique in which Rod Ends and
multiple aircraft flying in close proximity share information
about the local conditions in order to improve each individ- Spherical
ual aircraft’s performance. Theoretical and implemented Bearings designed
demonstrations have shown promising results of two vehi- and manufactured to
cles sharing soaring information. Depenbusch demonstrated Aurora’s exacting
multiple aircraft flying simultaneously and sharing soaring
data, while also using memory of prior soaring conditions.
standards for quality
Storing and remembering areas of lift is a way for a single and durability.
agent to cooperate with itself and should be explored in fu-
ture research.
No research has previously tried to use autonomous soar-
ing techniques to carry out a specific mission. Autonomous
soaring with mission constraints has been demonstrated, Registered and Certified
but did not include any attempt to quantify the perform- to ISO_9001 and AS9100.
ance of the mission payload itself. This research attempts to
quantify the effect of autonomous soaring on an imagery From economy commercial
mission using imagery resolution and time-on-station as to aerospace approved,
metrics. For additional realism, the demonstration also in-
we’ve got it all!
cludes a communications relay payload to further add real-
world transmission effects.
A single-vehicle communications relay concept of opera-
tion (CONOP) is shown in Figure 1. This setup uses a single
airborne asset providing service to two remote sites. However, 
maneuvering within the given airspace constraint area may
not provide sufficient coverage, and requires the aircraft to
Aurora Bearing Company
operate over the obstruction. Instead, this report proposes two 901 Aucutt Road
aircraft: one over the base and one over the remote user. Montgomery IL. 60538
A notional over-the-hill surveillance and communications complete library of CAD drawings and 3D models available at:
relay mission is designed to show the potential mission per- w w w. a u r o r a b e a r i n g . c o m
formance enhancement offered by using autonomous soaring

Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-875 33

 Application Briefs

Tiltrotor Aircraft
Bell Textron Inc.
Fort Worth, TX
1-817-280-2011
www.bellflight.com

T he first CMV-22B Osprey, built by Bell Textron Inc., a Tex-

tron Inc. company, and Boeing, completed first flight op-
erations at Bell’s Amarillo Assembly Center recently. The
CMV-22B is the latest variant of the tiltrotor fleet, joining the
MV-22 and CV-22 used by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air
Force.
The U.S. Navy will use the CMV-22B to replace the C-2A
Greyhound for transporting personnel, mail, supplies and
high-priority cargo from shore bases to aircraft carriers at sea.
It will provide the Navy with significant increases in capabil-
ity and operational flexibility over the C-2A. CMV-22B opera-
tions can be either shore-based, “expeditionary”, or sea-based.
The Osprey is a critical warfighting enabler, providing the
time sensitive combat logistics needed to support combat op-
erations.
As compared to the MV-22B, the Navy variant has extended
operational range, a beyond line-of-sight HF radio, improved
fuel dump capability, a public address system for passengers,
and an improved lighting system for cargo loading. The
CMV-22B will be capable of transporting up to 6,000 pounds
of cargo/personnel to a 1,150 NM range. Bell Boeing designed
the Navy variant specifically for carrier fleet operations by
providing increased fuel capacity for the extended range re-
quirement. The mission flexibility of the Osprey will increase
operational capabilities and readiness, in addition to ferrying
major components of the F-35 engine.
Propulsion for the CMV-22B will be provided by two Rolls-
Royce Liberty AE1107C engines, each delivering 6,150 shaft
horsepower. Maximum gross vertical take-off weight is 52,600
lbs. Short take-off weight is 57,000 lbs., although testing is
currently in progress to increase this limit. The aircraft will
cruise at 269 knots, have a ceiling of 25,000 feet (7,620 me-
ters), and a range of 1,165 nautical miles. The CMV-22B nor-
mally has a crew of four with capacity for 23 passengers.
Plans call for Bell Boeing to deliver the first CMV-22B to Air
Test and Evaluation Squadron (HX) 21 in early 2020 for devel-
opmental test. The CMV-22B is expected to field with Initial
Operational Capability (IOC) and deploy for the first time
(projected) in 2021. While the Program of Record has 48
CMV-22 projected, the Navy currently plans to procure only
44 aircraft.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-460

Avionics Upgrade
Field Aerospace
Oklahoma City, OK
1- 403-219-3400
www.fieldaero.com

F ield Aerospace recently completed an avionics upgrade

for the US Forest Service on the sixth of 10 SD3-60
Sherpa aircraft 17 days ahead of schedule, with 100 percent
quality compliance.
Implementing efficiencies and lessons learned from the
previous Sherpa flight deck integrations shaved off 17 days
from the planned integration schedule, garnering kudos from
the US Forest Service. The forest service found no quality is-
sues during the acceptance inspection and said they are
pleased with the modification. They flew the Sherpa from
Oklahoma City to Rapid City, SD, for refueling, then to its
home base in Missoula, MT.
The Sherpa is a twin-engine transport aircraft, similar to the
C-23A, but with cabin windows, stronger landing-gear, in-
ward-opening paratroop doors at the rear of the fuselage and
an air-operable two-section cargo ramp. The US Forest Service
received 15 SD3-60 Sherpa (C-23B variant) aircraft from the
US Army in early 2014 to use as smokejumpers and to trans-
port cargo, paracargo, and firefighters. One of the unique fea-
tures of the Sherpa is a rear door that can open while in flight
for paracargo and jumpers.
Field Aerospace obtained the Supplemental Type Certificate
(STC) for this avionics upgrade, which modernizes the aging

34 www.aerodefensetech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020


smokejumper’s flight deck and improves its mission capabili-
ties, in September 2018. Field Aerospace developed and inte-
grated the modernized flight deck, conducted FAA-witnessed
ground and flight tests, and completed the STC certification.
Field’s FAA-authorized Organization Designation Authoriza-
tion (ODA) issued the STC for the first Sherpa.
Field’s modification integrates an intuitive, modernized
avionics suite with a Garmin G950 system. The new flight
deck includes new features and safety-enhancing capabilities,
such as a glass cockpit, weather radar, digital audio system,
VHF-FM tactical radio, large-screen Synthetic Vision Technol-
ogy (SVT), Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast
(ADS-B) Out, Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System
(TCAS), Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS),
Mode S extended squitter, and Localizer Performance (LPV).
Aircraft Cables
Harbour Industries LLC
Shelburne, VT
1-802-985-3311
www.harbourind.com
H arbour Industries LLC (Harbour), a Marmon | Berkshire
Hathaway company announced that it has been ap-
proved as a manufacturer for a number of low-loss coax and
high-speed data cables used on Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Light-
ning II 5th generation fighter aircraft.
Declared "combat ready" by the commander of the US Air
Combat Command, this next generation aircraft provides all
of the capabilities needed on the modern battlefield. The F-35
provides air superiority, interdiction, suppression of enemy air
defenses and close air support with unprecedented situational
awareness of the battle space that will be more extensive than
any single-seat platform in existence.
Harbour's data and coaxial cables were chosen based on the
use of a composite fluoropolymer insulation ensuring light-
weight and high-speed transmission. Harbour has a reputa-
tion as a supplier that has the product and process engineer-
ing expertise to ensure the highest quality cables will be
manufactured in exact accordance with Lockheed's demand-
ing physical and electrical requirements, a necessity when
equipping one of the world's most technically advanced com-
bat aircraft.
The F-35 combines 5th Generation fighter aircraft charac-
teristics — advanced stealth, integrated avionics, sensor fu-
sion and superior logistics support — with the most powerful
and comprehensive integrated sensor package of any fighter
aircraft in history. The F-35's advanced stealth allows pilots to
penetrate areas without being detected by radars that legacy
fighters cannot evade.
Advanced electronic warfare (EW) capabilities enable F-35
pilots to locate and track enemy forces, jam radars and disrupt
attacks with unparalleled effectiveness. Advanced avionics
give the pilot real-time access to battle space information with
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020 www.aerodefensetech.com
Application Briefs
The enhanced Sherpa aircraft support wild land fire opera-
tions, including smokejumper, passenger, and cargo missions.
Field Aerospace expects the next four Sherpa moderniza-
tions to follow the compressed modification schedule as well.
The next aircraft is currently in work at Field’s Oklahoma City
facility. Field Aerospace previously completed five Sherpa up-
grades, four as part of the original base contract and one for
the current option contract. Three additional aircraft will be
modified, for a total of 10 on the base and option contracts.
Field Aerospace offers modification services, maintenance,
and support for military and commercial aircraft; Intelligence,
Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) modifications for special-
mission and maritime applications; and aerospace parts man-
ufacturing and subassembly services.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-461
360-degree coverage and an unparalleled ability to dominate
the tactical environment. Data collected by sensors on the F-
35 will immediately be shared with commanders at sea, in the
air, or on the ground, providing an instantaneous, high-fi-
delity view of ongoing operations – making the F-35 a formi-
dable force multiplier while enhancing coalition operations.
This system allows F-35 pilots to reach well-defended targets
and suppress enemy radars.
The F-35's very low-observable (VLO) stealth allows it to
safely enter defended airspace areas without being seen by
radars that 4th Generation and earlier legacy fighters cannot
evade. The combination of stealth features, active electroni-
cally-scanned array (AESA) radar technology, and the aircraft’s
ability to carry its full component of weapons stores and fuel
internally allows F-35 pilots to engage ground targets at
longer ranges without being detected and tracked, using pre-
cision-guided munitions and air-to-air radar-guided missiles
to successfully complete air-to-ground missions.
The F-35’s integrated sensors, information and weapons sys-
tems give pilots an advantage over potential threat front-line
fighter aircraft. Compared to 5th Generation fighters like the
F-35 and F-22, legacy aircraft have a larger radar cross-section
35
 Application Briefs
(RCS), which means they can be more easily detected by
enemy radar. In aerial combat, legacy aircraft have relatively
equal opportunities to detect and engage one another, while a
5th Generation fighter pilot can see enemy aircraft first and
take decisive, lethal action from a stand-off distance.
Much of the F-35’s electronic warfare and ISR capabilities
are made possible by a core processor that can perform more
than 400 billion operations per second. This core processor
Battle Command System
Northrop Grumman Corp.
Falls Church, VA
703-280-2900
www.northropgrumman.com
N orthrop Grumman Corporation, MBDA
and Saab have successfully completed a
joint, collaborative effort to demonstrate
the ability to integrate MBDA’s Common
Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) family
and Saab’s Giraffe radar system family into
Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Air and
Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command
System (IBCS). CAMM was the first non-
U.S. missile system to be demonstrated
with IBCS earlier this year, and Giraffe rep-
resents the first non-U.S. sensor system to
be demonstrated.
The three companies demonstrated rapid
and functional integration during simulated threat scenarios
that included simultaneous engagements. Simulated air tar-
gets were fed to the Giraffe radar emulator, which passed the
radar information to IBCS to assess and track threats. IBCS
operators planned and executed optimized engagements
based on that data using the CAMM missile emulators which
engaged multiple threats simultaneously. IBCS then closed
the loop by displaying the outgoing missiles detected and re-
ported by the Giraffe emulators. The event successfully
demonstrated both Distributed Fire Direction and Advanced
Integrated Fire Control engagements.
MBDA’s CAMM family is the next generation of air de-
fense missiles for multi-domain applications. Designed to
defeat the most challenging of modern and future threats,
including saturation attacks by precision-guided munitions
and maneuvering high-speed missiles attacking simultane-
ously from multiple directions, the CAMM family of missiles
feature a solid-state active radar seeker, two-way data-link,
low-signature rocket motor and a 360° soft-vertical launch
system.
Saab’s Giraffe AMB radar delivers key capabilities as part of
short- and medium-range surveillance and Ground Based Air
Defense. It integrates powerful 3D surveillance radar and C3
functionality in one and the same system and provides forces
with swift understanding of the air situation, enabling imme-
36 www.aerodefensetech.com
collects data from the classified electronic warfare suite, devel-
oped by BAE Systems, to identify enemy radar and electronic
warfare emissions and, as happens with the eight sensor Elec-
tro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) providing the pilot 360-
degree coverage, recommending which target to attack and
whether he or she should use either kinetic or electronic
means to counter or negate the threat.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-462
diate and effective response to changing threats, new tactics
and shifting operational conditions.
IBCS creates a paradigm shift for IAMD by replacing legacy
stove-piped systems with a next-generation, net-centric ap-
proach to better address the evolving complex threat. The sys-
tem integrates disparate radars and weapons to construct a far
more effective IAMD enterprise. IBCS delivers a single inte-
grated air picture with unprecedented accuracy and broadens
surveillance and protection areas. With its open systems ar-
chitecture, IBCS allows incorporation of current and future
sensors and effectors and interoperability with joint C2 and
the ballistic missile defense system. IBCS is managed by the
U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space,
Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
With more than 90 armed forces customers worldwide,
MBDA offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermea-
sures products already in operational service and more than
15 others currently in development. MBDA is jointly owned
by Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%), and Leonardo (25%).
Saab serves the global market with products, services and so-
lutions in military defense and civil security, while Northrop
Grumman provides systems, products and solutions in au-
tonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics
and modernization to customers worldwide.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-463
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020

Turbine Rotor Assembly Systems
RPI UK
Bath, UK
+44 (0) 1225 426206
www.rpiuk.com
R PI UK has installed two integrated
rotor measurement and assembly
platforms (iMAPs) at Atlanta-based
Delta Airlines; the Rolls-Royce approved
MRO facility. RPI specializes in develop-
ing and manufacturing precision posi-
tioning devices for high-accuracy rotary
and angular inspection systems. The At-
lanta-based Delta Airlines facility carry
out maintenance, repair and overhaul
(MRO) of all Rolls-Royce Trent engines
in the United States.
Wyvern Industrial Technology LLC
(RPI’s USA distributor) and Paris Moun-
tain Consulting (RPI’s USA technical
software support provider) were on
hand to assist with the installation.
Going forward, both companies will
provide Delta with after-sales service.
In addition to the iMAPs, RPI has also
supplied Delta with Trent series 03 and
04 module tooling sets significantly re-
ducing set-up times and helping to im-
prove the overall performance of the
measurement process.
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
RPI’s iMAP is proven to reduce inspec-
tion times by 90% and improve gauge
repeatability and reproducibility by up
to 10 times. The technology is used by
Delta after the engines are dismantled,
to inspect each individual section of the
engine for cracks, wear and distortion.
Measurements are taken by AccuScan to
check that the geometry of components
meet their original and regional board
specifications as part of the stringent
MRO process. Once the components
have been approved, repaired or re-
placed, the iMAP is used for engine as-
sembly to ensure alignment and con-
centricity is correct and balanced as
each section is rebuilt.
iMAP’s data acquisition software, Ac-
cuScan, enables measurement of up to
4,000 data points on up to eight sur-
faces simultaneously per revolution,
thereby reducing process times to just
two minutes; a significant time-saving
compared with other available meth-
ods. This significantly improved inspec-
tion data is then used by the Rotor
Stacking software to optimize the as-
sembly of each component relative to
its neighbor to achieve minimum
runout or unbalance of the finished
www.aerodefensetech.com
Application Briefs
rotor. This technology is absolutely fun-
damental to ensure the operational
quality of the engine entering back into
service, for optimal reduction in vibra-
tion, greater fuel efficiency and longer
service intervals.
Specifically designed to inspect large
and heavy components, RPI’s iMAP ma-
chines are fully compatible with any
shop floor environment while main-
taining world class accuracies more
commonly seen in the standards labora-
tory. Combining a motorized high pre-
cision air bearing rotary axis, rigid col-
umn unit, anti-vibration granite base
and AccuScan multi-channel circular
geometry inspection software, IMAP has
a proven reputation system for produc-
tivity improvement in turbine rotor as-
sembly.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.
com/76504-464
Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-876

Industrial 3D Metal Printer
VELO3D (Campbell, CA) announced its
plans to launch a next-generation Sapphire
industrial 3D metal printer with a vertical
axis of 1 meter. The technical features of
the meter-tall Sapphire printer include a
315mm-diameter build plate, dual 1kW lasers, in-situ optical cali-
bration, and many of the same characteristics of existing Sapphire
machines. It will be the world’s tallest production metal-powder
laser additive manufacturing system, exceeding the build height
of both the SLM 800 and the GE Additive X Line 2000R.
The system will ship in Q4 2020, with precision-tool and
component manufacturer Knust-Godwin. The system will be
commercially available starting late 2020 and compatible
with nickel-based alloys.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-470
Rotary Table Springs Force Tester
The L.S. Starrett Company (Athol, MA)
has introduced a newly designed rotary
table springs force tester. Multiple springs
can be loaded and tested in the Rotary Table
Force Tester System, and the system will
provide a pass/fail report on each spring.
Detailed information on each spring is also available including
free length, spring rate, and critical load and distance points.
The rotary table springs tester solution features the Starrett
FMS-1000-L3, a single-column force measurement system op-
timized for high-volume production and quality control test-
ing. The FMS-1000-L3 frame has a 1000N (225 lbf) testing ca-
pacity for tensile or compressive testing. The system includes
the test frame, controller & software. The controller features a
Windows operating system with a high-resolution color,
multi-touch display, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB 2.0 port(s). The
rotary table springs force tester has L2 Plus software featuring
analysis tools to measure and display results on a single graph.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-471
CAM Software
DP Technology (Camarillo, CA) an-
nounced a comprehensive product update,
called ESPRIT 2020, for their computer-
aided manufacturing (CAM) software.
Among the most significant developments
are updates to the software’s computer-aided design (CAD) inter-
faces and new or improved solutions for specific machine tools.
ESPRIT 2020 features plentiful updates for Swiss-type machin-
ing, a technique defined by its small, often intricate parts.
ESPRIT’s 2020 update introduces or enhances support for 200
different Swiss-type machine models, including Citizen D25,
which features three channels, 3x Y-axis, 3x Z-axis, B-axis front
and back; Star SV 38R, which features three channels and a B-
axis; Tsugami SS38, a chucker-convertible sliding headstock
lathe with B-axis; Tornos machines; seamless integration of
laser cutting operations for Tsugami and Citizen; and Willemin-
Macodel MT series machines.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-487
38 www.aerodefensetech.com
New Products
5-Axis Bridge-Type Machining Center
Methods Machine Tools, Inc. (Sud-
bury, MA) has introduced the all-new
Methods MB 450U Simultaneous 5-Axis
Bridge-Type Machining Center. Due to
the FANUC 31i-MB5 control, this ma-
chine is able to perform full five-axis
precision machining of challenging
parts, significantly reducing the need for multiple setups.
The FANUC 31i-MB5 Simultaneous 5-Axis control has a 15"
color display and includes a range of powerful standard fea-
tures including a 2 GB data server, Manual Guide I, AICC II
600 Block Look Ahead, 1 MB of NC memory and 0.4 ms
Block Processing Time. The FANUC control offers collision
detection with a 3D interference check and a Fast Package III
with tool center point control.
The Methods MB 450U features a 15,000 RPM Big Plus, 40-
Taper Spindle with air-oil lubrication and a spindle chiller
for longevity. A 15-HP hollow shaft spindle motor with
1,000 psi (70 bar) coolant-thru spindle prep and couple is
also standard. The new MB 450U 5-Axis Bridge-Type Ma-
chining Center includes a large capacity, dual swing arm-
type 48-tool automatic tool changer. Travel is 15.7" (400
mm) on the X-axis and 13.8" (350 mm) on the Y and Z-axes.
The B-axis has -50°~ +110° tilting capability and the rotary
C-axis has a 360° rotation angle.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-482
Rugged Video Encoder
Delta Digital Video (Horsham,
PA) announced a new addition to
their line of rugged H.265 video en-
coders. The Model 7840R 4-Chan-
nel H.265 Video Encoder is a rugged, HD/SD video encoder
extending support for multi-channel applications while
maintaining the same size, weight, and power of the dual-
channel unit, Model 7820R 2-Channel HD/SD H.265
Rugged Video Encoder.
The Model 7840R provides flexibility with simultaneous
support for H.265 (HEVC) and H.264 (AVC), along with both
HD/SD-SDI and composite video formats. It is built on an
advanced, low-power multimedia architecture that provides
the horsepower for the computationally intensive H.265 al-
gorithm, providing bandwidth efficiency for multi-channel
applications. This increased efficiency allows for more chan-
nels to be transmitted over a given bandwidth, better quality
video for constrained bandwidth applications, or lower
bandwidth operation to extend the limits of ISR and flight
test operations.
Delta Digital Video’s Rugged Video Encoders are designed
for harsh airborne, ground-mobile, and shipboard environ-
ments. The highly reliable Rugged Video Encoders compress
and multiplex sensor video, audio, and metadata for real-
time, low latency transmission to remote ground stations
and downstream processing, exploitation, and dissemina-
tion (PED) systems.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-495
Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020
 Product Spotlight
New Products MULTIPHYSICS
MODELING AND
SIMULATION
APPLICATIONS
COMSOL Multiphysics® is a soft-
ware environment for creating
physics-based models and simu-
lation applications. Add-on
Digital Factory Planning Tools products provide tools for electromagnetics, structur-
al, acoustics, fluid flow, heat transfer, and chemical sim-
The latest version of 3D_Evolution Simplifier conversion and ulations. Interfacing products offer a unified workflow
simplification software from CoreTechnologie (CT) (Moembris, with all major technical computing and CAD tools.
Germany) is now also available with a new DGN interface, com- COMSOL Compiler™ and COMSOL Server™ are used
for deploying simulation applications to colleagues
pleting the wide range of interfaces and formats for all major dig- and customers. https://www.comsol.com/products
ital factory planning tools. The 3D_Evolution software reads 3D
formats such as CATIA, JT, CREO, NX, Solidworks and STEP with- COMSOL, Inc.
out a CAD license and automatically generates envelope geome- Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-877
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Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020 www.aerodefensetech.com 39

Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joseph T. Pramberger
Ad Index
Editorial Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Linda L. Bell
Advertiser Page Web Link
Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bruce A. Bennett
AGM Container Controls Inc...................................2 ......................................................................AGMContainer.com
Digital Editorial Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Billy Hurley
Associate Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Edward Brown
AirBorn, Inc. ................................................................23........................................................................www.airborn.com
Content Strategist, Audience Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kendra Smith
Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Adam Santiago
Aurora Bearing Co.....................................................33..........................................................www.aurorabearing.com
Production Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .James Rodriguez
Creative Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lois Erlacher AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2020 ........................................25 ............................................................................xponential.org
Graphic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Annette Murphy
Marketing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kaitlyn Sommer Click Bond, Inc. ..........................................................13....................................................................www.clickbond.com
Marketing Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sam Mills
Marketing Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aimee Carmer Coilcraft........................................................................7 ..................................................................................coilcraft.com
Audience Development Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Christine Oldenbrook
Audience Development Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stacey Nelson COMSOL, Inc.................................................................39, Cover 4 ................................................................comsol.com
Audience Development/Circulation Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Erykah Davis
Subscription Changes/Cancellations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ADT@OMEDA.com Cornell Dubilier..........................................................5....................................................................................cde.com/ulp
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261 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10016
(212) 490-3999 FAX (646) 829-0800 Crystal Group, Inc......................................................Cover 2 ..........................................................crystalrugged.com
Chief Executive Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Domenic A. Mucchetti
Executive Vice-President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Luke Schnirring GAGE BILT Inc. ............................................................10a ....................................................................www.gagebilt.com
Technology Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Oliver Rockwell
Digital Development Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Peter Bonavita Gemstar Manufacturing..........................................4 ..........................................................................gemstarmfg.com
Digital Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Howard Ng
Digital Media Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Md Jaliluzzaman Helical Products - MW Industries, Inc.................1 ..........................................................................www.heli-cal.com
Digital Media Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rowena Pagarigan
Digital Production Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew Greenberg Infinite Electronics/Milestek..................................15 ................................................................................MilesTek.com
Digital Production Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Symba Wong
Credit & Collection Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stacie Pointek International Polymer Engineering ....................9a ........................................................................www.ipemfg.com
Credit/Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Felecia Lahey
Accounting/Human Resources Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sylvia Bonilla
Kaman Precision Products ....................................9......................................................................kamansensors.com
A/R Credit & Collection Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Crystal Ortiz
Master Bond Inc ........................................................39..............................................................www.masterbond.com
Office Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alfredo Vasquez

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Military Robotics And

MA, NH, ME, VT, RI, Eastern Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ed Marecki Autonomous Systems - SMI Group......................17 ......................www.robotics-autonomous.com/techbriefs
(401) 351-0274
CT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stan Greenfield Minco Products, Inc. ................................................3 ......................................................................................minco.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(203) 938-2418
NJ, PA, DE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John Murray Mini-Systems, Inc.......................................................11 ..................................................................mini-systemsinc.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (973) 409-4685
Southeast, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ray Tompkins
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(281) 313-1004
Mitsui Seiki USA ........................................................3a ................................................................www.mitsuiseiki.com
NY, OH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ryan Beckman
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(973) 409-4687 MPL ................................................................................37 ..................................................................................www.mpl.ch
MI, IN, WI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chris Kennedy
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(847) 498-4520 ext. 3008 Opal Kelly ....................................................................19 ....................................................................www.opalkelly.com
MN, ND, SD, IL, KY, MO, KS, IA, NE, Central Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bob Casey
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(847) 223-5225 RAD Torque Systems ................................................1a ..................................................................www.radtorque.com
Northwest, N. Calif., Western Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Twyla Sulesky
(408) 779-0005 S.I. Tech ........................................................................39........................................................www.sitech-bitdriver.com
S. Calif., AZ, NM, Rocky Mountain States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tim Powers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(908) 892-2838
SAE Mobilus ................................................................5a............................................................................saemobilus.org
Europe — Central & Eastern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sven Anacker
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49-202-27169-11
State of the Art, Inc. ................................................27 ......................................................................www.resistor.com
Joseph Heeg
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49-621-841-5702
Europe — Western . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chris Shaw Technologic Systems ..............................................10a ......................................................www.embeddedARM.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44-1270-522130
Integrated Media Consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Patrick Harvey
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(219) 878-6068 June 2020, Volume 5, Number 6

40 www.aerodefensetech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2020

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 June 2020

The Carbon Nexus carbon fiber

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Supplement to Aerospace & Defense Technology

 Does Your
Coating
Thickness
Meet Spec?
F
rom the aerospace OEM assembly line and spray
booth to soaring mission critical maneuvers and
the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO)
hangar, it is vital that leading edge aircraft be made to
spec and precisely coated for reliable performance,
protection, and prolonged life. So, the aerospace indus-
try needs accurate coating thickness measurement
whenever plating, anodizing, powder coating or
other coatings are required. This is particularly
important when the coatings play a critical
role in preventing the corrosion or wear of
metal substrates.
Properly applied coatings, with thickness
measured in mils (.001 inch) or microns
(.001 mm) are crucial to avoid coating
breaches leading to corrosion of the under-
lying substrate. Precise application to spec,
along with coating measurement, can also
help to prevent leaks and other safety issues.

By Mehmet Cetin/Shutterstock.com

IIa www.aerodefensetech.com Aerospace Manufacturing & Machining, June 2020

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Coating Thickness
Until recently, however, conducting fre-
quent laboratory-quality coating thickness
tests throughout the manufacturing pro-
cess or in the field has been difficult.
Traditionally, this required meticulous sam-
pling and preparation, as well as taking
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Although portable coating thickness
gauges are not new, most fail to provide the
accuracy, speed, or simplicity required for
anyone to conduct quick checks as needed
on the production line or in the field.
Fortunately, handheld devices are now
available that allow personnel to easily
and quickly perform lab-quality coating
thickness measurements. Some options
offer instant coating thickness measure-
ment of almost any non-magnetic coat-
ing on both ferrous (magnetic) and
non-ferrous (non-magnetic) substrates.
This is possible using only one hand,
even on curved and complex surfaces.
By simplifying the process, aerospace
OEMs and MROs can increase the qual-
ity of their products and services from
start to finish while optimizing cost.
Modern handheld devices like this Kett coatings analyzer are now available to allow personnel to per-
form lab-quality coating thickness measurements using one hand, even on curved and complex sur- The Benefits of Coating
faces. Thickness Readings
Coating thickness directly affects air-
craft and component quality, whether
for paint, electroplating, anodizing, or a
wide range of other coating applica-
tions. For example, checking the paint
coating consistency on an aircraft or
component not only provides a superior
finish, but can also offer essential data
about paint consistency when it is wet.
Incorrect paint consistency can affect
drying times or eventual flaking of the
paint film. Too little paint coating and
you are left with cosmetic issues in opac-
ity, and protective issues like corrosion,
wear, and exposure.
When specificity and adhesion matter
in anodizing and electroplating, a coat-
ing thickness gauge should be able to
read the thickness of the coating to the
most minute measurement. This can
play a major factor in preventing corro-
sion while optimizing the process by
eliminating any excess use of the expen-
sive plating product. Another way a coat-
ing thickness gauge can make a signifi-
cant impact is in testing anti-corrosion
coatings in pipe or piping to find weak
spots, where the coating is too thin and
a breach of the coating could make the
substrate susceptible to corrosion.
Knowing about these trouble spots
Some instruments offer instant coating thickness measurement of almost any non-magnetic coating can prevent a problem well before it
on both ferrous (magnetic) and non-ferrous (non-magnetic) substrates. occurs. This could involve aircraft

2a www.aerodefensetech.com Aerospace Manufacturing & Machining, June 2020

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Coating Thickness
Kett's LZ-373 US aerospace analyzer works on both ferrous and non-ferrous substrates.
engine piping and tubing or exhaust
pipes. A nondestructive gauge is a per-
fect way to ensure that the protective
coating has not been applied too thinly
or become so over time. Excessively thin
coatings are more likely to be chipped
or breached, which can lead to corro-
sion promoters like water or oxygen get-
ting under the coating and accelerating
corrosion in the substrate.
Simplifying Coating Thickness
Measurement
Although traditional laboratory and
online based coating thickness measure-
ment techniques are useful in the right
settings, they have lacked the simplicity
and flexibility required for frequent spot
checks. Often, this involves sampling,
sample preparation, and taking the sam-
ple to the lab for evaluation, which
requires the participation of staff ade-
quately trained for the process.
Other conventional coating tests, such
as scratch testing, have been destructive
or invasive and damaged the sample.
This meant that a product could not be
returned to the production line, or that
a coated surface had to be recoated or
repaired in the field at additional
4a
expense. Also, since only a small portion
of the component may be tested, results
may not be representative of the entire
situation. Consequently, various portable
coating thickness measurement devices
have been developed. However, these
have not always provided the necessary
accuracy or been sufficiently easy to use.
Another drawback is that in certain
environments with multiple substrates,
the devices typically either had difficulty
determining the substrate or utilizing
the correct test for the application. So,
multiple measurement devices had to be
used, which complicated testing and
added cost.
Finally, typical coating measurement
methods were usually unable to accu-
rately measure curved or complex
sufaces. This left pipe, piping, and con-
voluted component designs largely
unable to be easily spot checked for
coating compliance.
In response, aerospace industry inno-
vators have developed a number of
advanced designs for handheld coating
thickness test devices. For units used on
the production line and in the field,
these significantly improve accuracy, ver-
satility, and ease of use.
www.aerodefensetech.com
One example is a portable coating
thickness gauge which combines two of
the most widely used measurement meth-
ods, magnetic inductance and eddy cur-
rent, in a dual mode device that can meas-
ure the coating thickness of almost any
non-magnetic coating on both ferrous
(magnetic) and non-ferrous (non-mag-
netic) substrates. Since the unit is able to
automatically determine the substrate
and use the appropriate measurement cir-
cuit, this enables instant, non-destructive
testing on painting, plating, anodizing,
and organic coatings with accuracy up to
0.1 μm. Such testing takes less than a sec-
ond to display the measurement.
Because the key to providing accurate,
repeatable measurements is the opera-
tor’s ability to reliably make consistent
contact between the instrument and the
test surface, the unit also utilizes a spring-
loaded probe to generate a consistent
contact pressure with the measured sur-
face. This integrated probe also includes
built in edge guides to enable easy meas-
urement of even curved and edged sur-
faces. To ensure device stability during
measurement, the foot of the probe is
also designed to provide a firm platform
when placed onto the test piece.
A number of other design considera-
tions in handheld coating thickness
gauges can also simplify measurement and
improve versatility. In order to improve
accuracy and durability on the aerospace
factory floor or in the field, it is best for the
unit to have no moving parts, other than
the probe. Similarly, the unit should be
impervious to vibration, with measure-
ment independent of its orientation.
To save time during the testing
process, it’s recommended to utilize a
unit with a large screen that enables the
quick reading of results. Those results
should be able to be stored in the gauge
and transferred to a computer and/or
printer for documentation and averag-
ing purposes. An instrument that stores
many test measurements is best so oper-
ators can perform numerous tests
before downloading the results.
Easier, more accurate aerospace coat-
ing and plating measurement with hand-
held units will help to improve quality
checks wherever needed. So, defects can
be immediately detected and corrective
action undertaken to minimize scrap
and faulty components or aircraft.
This article was written by John Bogart,
Managing Director, Kett US (Villa Park,
CA). For more information, visit http://
info.hotims.com/76504-520.
Aerospace Manufacturing & Machining, June 2020
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Scaling Low-Cost
Carbon Fiber Production
with Oxidation Technology
F
ew materials used in manufacturing today are as versatile
and desirable in performance applications as carbon
fiber. Also known as graphite fiber and carbon graphite,
carbon fiber is made up of thin strands of carbon that vary in
diameter from four to ten microns, dependent on manufactur-
er and use. Do not let the size of these fibers fool you. Carbon
fiber is regarded as one of the lightest and strongest materials
on Earth. Compared to a unit of steel, carbon fiber is up to ten
times stronger, two times stiffer, and 66% lighter.

6a www.aerodefensetech.com Aerospace Manufacturing & Machining, June 2020

 Bobbins of carbon fiber being wound for distribution at Carbon Nexus.

Aerospace Manufacturing & Machining, June 2020 www.aerodefensetech.com 7a

 Carbon Fiber Production
These characteristics make carbon
fiber an ideal material for use in the
aerospace industry. Its lighter weight,
higher fatigue strength and temperature
tolerance, and superior corrosion resist-
ance give carbon fiber a distinct advan-
tage over metals historically used in the
industry, such as steel and aluminum.
Take fatigue strength as an example.
Carbon fiber’s high fatigue strength
translates to a much lower loss of strength
(20%) compared to aluminum (50%)
under similar stresses. Its performance
over large temperature ranges is also
Overhead view of both carbon fiber production lines.
8a
advantageous. Unlike metals that
expand and contract under extreme
temperature changes, carbon fiber
maintains a much tighter tolerance and
does not stress as easily. In the long run,
using carbon fiber in aircraft compo-
nents can save money in terms of lower
maintenance costs due to more durable,
longer-lasting equipment, and reduced
fuel consumption due to lighter aircraft.
Carbon fiber is already making waves
in the aerospace industry. Carbon fiber
reinforced composites are being used in
the construction of aircraft parts such as
www.aerodefensetech.com
fuselages, doors, wings, and tails. The
potential exists to increase its use across
a wider range of applications, especially
in areas where shaving weight is a pri-
mary consideration. Despite its potential
and obvious appeal, the high cost of raw
materials and the energy and capital-
intensive nature of its production
process limit widespread adoption of
carbon fiber beyond current applica-
tions in the industry.
Traditional Carbon Fiber
Production Process
Today’s carbon fiber manufacturing
process has not changed much since
commercialization began in the 1960s.
The process involves converting bundles
(called tows) of polyacrylonitrile (PAN),
a carbon-containing polymer fiber, to
pure carbon fiber through a carefully
controlled series of heating and stretch-
ing steps. These steps include:
• Spinning – PAN is chemically modified
using a proprietary mix of ingredients
to maximize the resulting carbon
fiber’s mechanical properties. It is
then spun into fibers that are washed
and stretched.
• Oxidation – Strands of PAN fibers are
fed through a series of heated ovens,
which facilitate chemical conversion of
the polymer’s nitrile groups.
• Carbonization – Once the fibers are
stabilized, they are heated to progres-
sively higher processing temperatures
(up to 2,000°C) in an inert (oxygen-
free) environment, typically nitrogen,
to remove the fibers’ remaining hydro-
gen and nitrogen molecules, creating
hexagonal “ladder-like” graphitic
planes.
• Surface Treatment and Sizing – Fibers
are processed through various treat-
ments (dependent on the manufactur-
er) to improve the bonding properties
of the fibers’ surface in preparation
for their formation into composite
materials.
Of these steps, the oxidation process
poses the greatest challenge to scaling
carbon fiber production. The process-
ing time required for fiber stabilization
of industrial tow sizes (24k and above)
typically ranges from 80 – 110 minutes
for conventional methods, accounting
for approximately 97% of the entire car-
bon fiber production process. The
amount of time spent in the oxidation
stage makes it the most energy-intensive
step, using up to 7.5 megawatts per hour.
The energy expended during oxidation
Aerospace Manufacturing & Machining, June 2020
is used to maintain a temperature range
of 200 - 300°C and requires a high rate
of atmosphere-turnover to maintain a
non-combustible atmosphere during
processing.

New Rapid Oxidation Technology

Carbon fiber manufacturers now have
access to a new technology that decreas-
es oxidation process time from 80 – 110
minutes down to less than 15 minutes,
making it possible to produce 360%
more carbon fiber by volume in less time
and with lower capital and energy costs.
The technology was developed by
Carbon Nexus, an open access carbon
fiber and composite research facility
located at Australia’s Deakin University,
and it has since been licensed to
LeMond Carbon.
While the conventional method
requires long process times to allow oxy-
gen molecules to penetrate the PAN Co-inventor of LeMond's technology, Dr. Maxime Maghe, conducting tests on the production line.
fibers allowing for controlled crosslink-
ing of the polymer’s nitrile groups, this “catalytic-like” effect creates a chain carbon fiber manufacturers. This allows
new technology creates an environment reaction and speeds up chemical conver- for a carbon fiber product that not only
where the formation of nitrile groups is sion of the fiber’s nitrile groups. The fits into most manufacturers’ applica-
obtained in a controlled manner by cre- new technology uses the same PAN fiber tions with little to no retooling required
ating a “catalytic-like” reaction. This precursor that is currently employed by but possesses the same advantageous

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Carbon Fiber Production
properties that manufacturers have come to expect, with val-
ues for tensile strength, tensile modulus, and strain to failure
exceeding 3.5 Gpa, 270 Gpa, and 1% respectively.
There are multiple benefits associated with this new technol-
ogy. First, there is the energy savings. Due to a shorter process-
ing time, the oxidation stage uses up to 75% less energy com-
pared to the conventional approach. This translates to both
lower energy use and lower gaseous emissions produced dur-
ing processing. This technology also has a smaller infrastruc-
ture footprint, employing up to 75% less process equipment
compared to a conventional carbon fiber manufacturing facil-
ity, per kilogram of carbon fiber produced. This smaller foot-
print, along with reduced energy and capital costs, will enable
manufacturers to localize their operations and ramp up pro-
duction so that they can keep up with market demand. These
factors are key for broadening carbon fiber’s applications in
the aerospace industry.
Third-Party Verified Technology
In July 2019, LeMond Carbon sought third-party verification
of its carbon fiber rapid oxidation technology. The independ-
ent technical audit was conducted on the 100-ton per annum
pilot line at Deakin University’s Carbon Nexus facility by
Bureau Veritas (BV), a world leader in laboratory testing,
inspection, and manufacturing processes. During the audit,
BV measured oxidation times, assured process traceability, and
oversaw fiber sampling, packaging, and shipping of audit sam-
ples to BV’s laboratories in Pessac, France for extensive testing.
Composite tow tests of the fiber were completed according to
ASTM D 4018-17 standards.
Audit results were publicly released in December 2019.
Ultimately, BV measured total oxidation times of sub-15 and
sub-20 minutes over two separate production campaigns of
24K standard modulus carbon fiber, achieving fiber tow prop-
erties in excess of 270 GPa tensile modulus and 3,500 MPa ten-
sile strength. BV’s findings provide validation that this rapid
oxidation technology delivers on its promise to significantly
reduce oxidation process times while continuing to produce a
high performing carbon fiber end product.
LeMond Carbon views BV’s third-party verification as a criti-
cal step in obtaining industry validation of this new technology
and its ability to revolutionize how carbon fiber is manufac-
tured. The company is currently producing samples on Deakin
University’s Carbon Nexus pilot line for trials with target cus-
tomers. It hopes to increase customer sampling and testing in
the coming months to show potential customers how the fiber
produced from this rapid oxidation technology can easily inte-
grate into their current manufacturing processes and compos-
ite components.
Advanced materials and composites will continue to play a
major role as the aerospace industry seeks new ways to create
lighter, safer, more durable, and environmentally friendly air-
craft. Access to low-cost, high-quality carbon fiber will
undoubtedly pave the way for further industry innovation,
which is currently encumbered due to high carbon fiber costs.
By speeding up the oxidation process and lowering cost,
LeMond Carbon’s rapid oxidation technology is opening the
door to greater adoption and innovation of carbon fiber prod-
ucts, not tomorrow, but today.
This article was written by David Church, Chief Technology Officer,
LeMond Carbon (Oak Ridge, TN). For more information, visit
http://info.hotims.com/76504-521.
Aerospace Manufacturing & Machining, June 2020
Getting the Most Out of
Laser Wire Additive
Manufacturing
W
hen the topic of additive manufacturing in metal
comes up, most people picture Selective Laser
Sintering (SLS) powder-based systems. But these
aren’t the only methods of printing metals.
Speaking specifically to the laser wire additive manufac-
turing process (LWAM), these systems can offer some excit-
ing benefits over SLS, like build areas three times the aver-
age powder-based system and larger, but they also come with
their own set of constraints that require the design engineer
to understand in order to bring out the potential of the
process. The best place to start is getting a handle on how
laser wire additive manufacturing works.
Aerospace Manufacturing & Machining, June 2020 www.aerodefensetech.com
In contrast with SLS machines, the LWAM process is a
Directed Energy Deposition (DED) fabrication process for
metal 3D printing that uses a laser heat source to create a
molten pool. Using a wire-based format, the material is fed
into the molten pool, where it is melted and subsequently
solidified in successive layers. The part is built up layer by
layer as directed by a 3D deposition path onto a substrate
that is compatible with the deposition material. After the
printing is complete, some metals or parts may need stress-
relieving after treatment to resolve forces acquired through-
out the disposition process before it can be finish
machined.
11a
Additive Manufacturing

In another departure from powder

3D printing systems, many LWAM sys-
tems like the ADDere system use a six-
axis robot and a two-axis positioning
table. This provides the ability to set a
deposition posture and allow five axis
of build freedom to articulate both the
printing head as well as the component
being printed.
The LWAM process does offer metal-
lurgical qualities that typically exceed
casting and can rival billet of the same
materials, due to the fine resolution
laser controls and proper shielding.
Tests have shown that there could be a
Figure 1. Example of a single pass path at 6mm marginal amount (1-2%) of anisotropy
in printed materials, but the grain struc-
tures have shown to be exhibiting high
strength crystalline structures and nearly
zero porosity or inclusions. Independent
tests have shown LWAM printed materi-
als typically meet ASTM standards.
It is recommended that the customer
do their own testing on materials from
the process especially if the component
will find itself in extreme performance
conditions. Typically, LWAM printers
offer the ability to test print materials
before the component is printed. But
with any process there are constraints.
LWAM is no different.
Certainly, with LWAM there are few
cases in which it could compete directly
with current SLS technologies, but
there are capabilities that take laser wire
printing far beyond what can be done
with SLS – for the right audience. It’s
important to know LWAM’s constraints
Figure 2. Example of layer height of 1mm to understand where the process could
help and where it could not.
The most noticeable LWAM con-
straint is it simply cannot achieve the
resolution afforded by powder-based
systems. This is due to the method used
in depositing materials. Wall widths of 5-
6 mm and layer heights of around 1 mm
have proven to be the best compromise
between printing speed and detail qual-
ity, although the system may be able to
create path widths of perhaps half that
or much wider with sufficient tuning.
This means features smaller than the
standard wall width will need to be cre-
ated by a subtractive process or
designed out of the part. It also means
the tolerances are just not there to rely
on features like through holes or align-
ment slots being shaped precisely for
mechanical needs without resorting to
secondary machining processes.
The lower resolution stemming from
Figure 3. Titanium wing spar demonstrator the comparatively larger deposition

12a www.aerodefensetech.com Aerospace Manufacturing & Machining, June 2020

paths mentioned above creates parts
that should be considered essentially
‘near-net shape parts.’ LWAM parts
bear greater similarity to the level of
finish quality found in the sand cast
parts being made today. As such, LWAM
produced parts do typically require fin-
ishing processes, just like castings.
On the other hand, LWAM’s ability to
print at wider path widths opens the
opportunity for much faster deposition
rates than can be achieved through
powder-based additive processes.
Larger parts can be printed faster.
Material deposition rates of over 30
lb/hr have been achieved with some
systems. The thicker path widths also
open the door to more efficient print-
ing of high-mass components than is
feasible with a powder system, such as
transmission cases, engine mounts and
large structural elements. Figure 4. Example of a titanium wing spar showing length
These thicker paths and layers tend to
also create a rougher finish than pow- the printer aware of these areas where of greater than 45 degrees and bridges
der processes, even though the printed machining will be necessary allows the tend to cause the most concern in
metal is, in a metallurgical sense, a con- printer to add additional material in printing components. If the part
tiguous material. That texture is notice- critical areas to ensure the downstream absolutely requires a certain overhang
able to the naked eye and the finish processes are successful. or bridge and the process cannot sup-
changes with the material printed, but Many 3D printing systems allow for port it, the feature may need to be cre-
surface roughness is not beyond what’s the addition of temporary structures ated with secondary processes.
commonly found in sand-casted parts. printed around the part to facilitate With a six-axis deposition system,
Communication is key to a successful more complex shapes. At this point in there can be more opportunity to work
build. A design engineer using LWAM time, this is not available with the around complex shapes including over-
should be made aware and design for LWAM process in the conventional hangs and bridges. Sometimes, the
secondary processes to drive finish tol- sense. Care must be taken to design necessity for structural build support
erances into the part. Further, making with this limitation in mind. Overhangs can be reduced or eliminated as the

Figure 5. 72-inch tall turbine blade Figure 6. ADDere system printing a metal part

Aerospace Manufacturing & Machining, June 2020 www.aerodefensetech.com 13a

Additive Manufacturing
Figure 7. Close up of the ADDere printing process
multiple axes have allowed for greater
design freedom than what’s possible
with gantry-based systems. The added
axes allow for positioning the printed
part and head in positions where cer-
tain features and overhangs could be
created with articulation rather than
support. For instance, a part could be
built up on the z-axis. Then a secondary
feature could be built perpendicular to
that axis by rotating the part in the
machine. This ability is being devel-
Figure 8. LWAM produced parts do typically require finishing processes, just like castings.
14a
oped more and more but it shouldn’t
be taken for granted in solving complex
overhangs in a part. Best to partner
with the printer to understand what can
be achievable with multi-axis systems.
Much like fused deposition plastic
printers, the LWAM process requires a
substrate to apply deposition to. This
substrate has to be made of a compati-
ble material for the metal being print-
ed. The substrate requirement necessi-
tates the part design to have a flat sur-
www.aerodefensetech.com
face where the part can be built from.
Usually the substrate is made of the
same material as the metal being
deposited. In a departure from the plas-
tic machines, LWAM systems essentially
weld the printed part to the substrate
during the process. An engineer will
either have to design the substrate into
the part or the substrate must be
removed after printing is completed.
More ingenious designers have side-
stepped the issue by integrating the
build surface into the part, as some
LWAM systems, like ADDere, can print
on both sides of the substrate. Parts
with cleverly integrated substrates
could see measurable cost savings.
With these traits, Laser Wire Additive
Manufacturing of metal components
could reliably be used as an alternative
to conventional, very large-scale part
prototyping processes. The time it takes
for a LWAM system to create a near-net
shape part is about the same time a cast-
ing firm would need to create a pattern.
When multiple iterations are needed to
solve complex performance issues, this
time savings could reduce development
times to months rather than years.
As long as the system’s limitations are
properly understood, LWAM may offer
benefits not realized in conventional
manufacturing processes, as well. For
instance, a process that requires large
billets of material to be removed has
great potential for cost savings using
the LWAM process even though final
machining is required in both. A
LWAM print could get firms over 80%
of the way to a finished part without
having to spend an inordinate amount
of time on a machining center or hav-
ing to account for the bulk of some
expensive removed material recovering
as little as a tenth of its value in scrap.
While this article is only a general
overview of the capabilities and limita-
tions of the Laser Wire Additive
Manufacturing process, the technology
continues to evolve and grow its abili-
ties at a fast pace. Currently, the process
offers a number of up-sides for the
right industry and applications, open-
ing the door to large-scale, high-mass
additively made components, provided
the designer understands the intrica-
cies of the LWAM process.
This article was written by Eric
Fescenmeyer, Marketing Manager, ADDere,
A Division of Midwest Engineered Systems
(Waukesha, WI). For more information,
visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-522.
Aerospace Manufacturing & Machining, June 2020