AFP Head

World leader in design and manufacturing
of aerospace tooling and automation

èèɫÅúÎÝ is a highly experienced aerospace automation company with an exceptional concentration of engineers. Our wide range of projects include complete automation assembly systems for commercial aircraft wings, riveting machines and tools for wing panel and fuselage assembly, advanced fiber placement machines, robotic assembly systems, and spacecraft handling equipment. Our company was designed by the founder as a haven for engineers, with vertical responsibility for all work from concept to customer acceptance with minimal bureaucracy and barriers to success.

News

èèɫÅúÎÝ's Advanced Manufacturing: Powering Rocket Lab's Aerospace Innovation
8/9/2024
Team in front of Rocket Labs AFP Machine

Rocket Lab's automated fiber placement machine which will build large composite structures for the Neutron rocket. (Photo: Business Wire)

èèɫÅúÎÝ's role in Rocket Lab's latest aerospace advancement is pivotal. Our expertise in automated composite manufacturing has enabled the creation of a state-of-the-art machine for building large carbon composite rocket components, enhancing Rocket Lab's production efficiency and precision. The 99 ton, 39 foot tall AFP machine is capable of laying down 328 ft/min of carbon fiber up to 98 feet in length and will be used to produce the composite structures of the .

This partnership underscores èèɫÅúÎÝ's commitment to aerospace innovation, playing a crucial role in supporting Rocket Lab's goals and impacting the future of space exploration.

Read the full article on Business Wire:

Innovative Electric Go-Kart Project at BYUI Showcases Engineering Prowess with èèɫÅúÎÝ’s Support
4/23/2024

èèɫÅúÎÝ proudly announces its sponsorship of the BYU-Idaho ECEN 499 Senior Design Electric Go Kart Project, spanning two semesters. This collaboration empowers students to delve into the intricacies of electric propulsion systems, focusing on DC brushless motors and Variable Speed Drives (VSD).

Read more about the project here.

Middle River Aerostructure Systems, Baltimore, MD
3/29/2023

Great article featuring lots of èèɫÅúÎÝ Equipment!

The historic Martin Aircraft factory is advancing digitized automation for more sustainable production of composite aerostructures.
èèɫÅúÎÝ, Toray, and Janicki Advance Processing Technologies for Rapid Manufacture of Large Thermoplastic Composite Parts
9/7/2021

"A joint development between èèɫÅúÎÝ, Toray Advanced Composites, and Janicki Industries has achieved a leap forward in the high-speed manufacture of large thermoplastic composite parts. The project has resulted in the development of automated, cost-effective processing technologies that can manufacture large-scale thermoplastic parts at high-speed deposition rates of up to 4000 inches (100 meters) per minute."

NCC unveils èèɫÅúÎÝ AFP/ATL dual system for large, complex structures
5/5/2021

Through collaboration [with èèɫÅúÎÝ and industry], the NCC believe that AFP-ATL has the ability to reduce the barrier to entry to these game-changing technologies and expand the composite market into other areas such as renewable energy, oil and gas, construction and rail.

BAE Factory of the Future
4/23/2021
BAE

èèɫÅúÎÝ has partnered with BAE Systems to create a Factory of the Future. Jig less tooling, collaborative robots and a flexible and reconfigurable factory.

"Imagine the factory floor as a huge chessboard and on it you place large robots, which can pick up an array of different tools. The robots are set on a reconfigurable grid, which can be unlocked and moved to different locations (hence the chessboard analogy). The robots are placed around a central aircraft structure — and then asked to perform various jobs."

Read more at

Victrex and partner èèɫÅúÎÝ achieve 4000 IPM layup speeds, the next decisive step in the production of large structural components from thermoplastic composites
2/9/2021

"The significance of processing thermoplastic UDT at 4,000 IPM layup speeds with the variable spot size (VSS) laser is, for the first time that we know of, that thermoplastics are able to achieve thermoset layup speeds. These developments can help eliminate the need for autoclave cure, offer major and new, throughput advantages for thermoplastics," explained Michael Assadi, chief engineer at èèɫÅúÎÝ.

Air Force Global Strike Command’s innovation hub (STRIKEWERX)
11/23/2020
èèɫÅúÎÝ employee presenting at STRIKEWERX

Last week, èèɫÅúÎÝ participated in the Air Force Global Strike Command’s innovation hub (STRIKEWERX) "Design Sprint" event to aid B-52 maintainers throughout the command. As an industry representative, èèɫÅúÎÝ worked alongside airmen and academia partners to design and build rapid prototypes to improve the process for maintenance of brake pads on the B-52 aircraft.

Read more about how

C Frame Riveter


èèɫÅúÎÝ has developed an industrial true 6-axis continuous fiber reinforced 3D printer, enabling the tool-less rapid fabrication of aerospace-grade integrated composite structures. High-performance thermoplastics combined with a high percentage of continuous fiber reinforcement are used to produce parts with exceptional mechanical properties previously unheard of in the world of 3D printing.

Scalable Composite Robotic Additive Manufacturing (SCRAM)