LOS ANGELES – The US Air Force has awarded Machina Labs a $1.6 million contract to advance and accelerate the development of the company’s robotic technology for making metal molds for high-speed composite manufacturing.
In particular, Machina Labs will focus on creating metal tools for fast curing non-autoclave processing of composites. The Air Force is looking for ways to increase production and reduce the cost of composite parts for manned and unmanned aerial vehicles. Depending on size and material, tools for making aircraft composite parts can cost upwards of $1 million each, with a lead time of 8 to 10 months.
Machina Labs has invented a revolutionary new robotic process that can produce large and complex sheet metal parts in less than a week without the need for expensive tooling. As the company operates, a pair of large, six-axis AI-equipped robots work together from opposite sides to form a sheet of metal, similar to how skilled craftsmen once used hammers and anvils to create metal parts.
This process can be used to create sheet metal parts from steel, aluminum, titanium, and other metals. It can also be used to create tools for making composite parts.
Under a previous contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Machina Labs confirmed that its instruments are vacuum resistant, thermally and dimensionally stable, and more thermally sensitive than traditional metal instruments.
“Machina Labs has demonstrated that its advanced sheet metal forming technology with large envelopes and two robots can be used to create composite metal tools, resulting in a significant reduction in tooling costs and reduced time to market for composite parts,” said Craig Neslen. . , Head of Autonomous AFRL Production for Platform Projects. “At the same time, since no special equipment is required to make sheet metal tools, not only can the tool be made quickly, but design changes can also be made quickly if necessary.”
”We’re excited to partner with the US Air Force to advance composite tools for a variety of applications,” added Babak Raesinia, co-founder of Machina Labs and Head of Applications and Partnerships. “It’s expensive to stock tools. I believe technology will free up fundraising and allow these organizations to like the US Air Force, move to a tool-on-demand model.”
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Post time: Aug-24-2023