Orange County SAMPE Meeting Notice

Wed., Jan, 17th, 2018 at 6 p.m.

Presentation by Robert Graziano, Regional Sales Manager - Smart Tooling
A Division of Spintech, LLC

Topic - Smart Tooling Overview

ABSTRACT

Smart Tooling provides formable, reusable tooling solutions for manufacturing composite parts with complex geometries & trapped shapes that drastically reduce labor hours, increase through-put, improve quality, and may reduce consumable cost.

Smart Bladders act as rigid mandrels during lay-up and inflatable bladders during cure. After the composite is applied on the rigid Smart Bladder, the assembly is placed in a curing mold. The mold is heated then pressure is applied to the Smart Bladder for composite part consolidation.  While above its activation temperature and after pressure is removed, the flexible Smart Bladder is easily removed from the cured part.  The process is repeated by reforming the Smart Bladder in a form mold.

Smart Mandrels are formable tools that are rigid during cure and flexible during post cure. The composite is applied on the formed Smart Mandrel, vacuum bagged and cured per the manufacturer specification. Once the post cure is complete and the Smart Mandrel is still above its activation temperature, the flexible tool can easily be removed from the cured part.

Smart Caul is a caul that is cast to a near net shape of the non-tool side of a composite layup. The Smart Caul is applied to the top-side of a finished layup to provide more uniform consolidation and improved surface finish. Smart Caul will physically move to accommodate minor ply alignment issues between the caul and the layup to insure that there are no resin heavy or starved areas that would cause part failure. Smart Caul is rigid at room temperature and can also be used to lay prepreg plies onto if needed.

Smart Caul Sheet is a formable, reusable sheet that transforms from a rigid material to an elastic material when heated. Simply heat the material and work with it like a sheet of stretchy rubber while it is hot. Cool it down to room temperature and it becomes rigid, able to hold the shape until it is reheated.

Smart Patch is a formable, reusable Smart Tool repair material which can also be used to glue Smart Surface together.

BIO

M. Robert Graziano is the Regional Sales Manager for Smart Tooling, a division of Spintech, LLC.  Spintech, LLC is based out of Xenia, OH, but Robert is located in San Diego and covers the western United States.

Robert previously worked at Cobham Composite Products as Manager of Munition and Missiles.  His primary role before joining Spintech, LLC was customer point of contact for Raytheon Missile Systems, and Program Manager of the TOW Wireless Launch Tube and MALD Program.  Robert has a wide variety of composite manufacturing experience and direct experience with Smart Tooling via the MALD Program from January 2008 to December 2011.  In January 2008 Cobham selected Smart Tooling (Smart Bladder) for fabrication of the carbon/epoxy MALD Fuselage.  Robert lead the team through development and qualification over 18 months and then into production which transferred to Cobham’s Suffolk, VA facility.

In 2003 Robert earned his B.S. in Textile Engineering from Philadelphia University (previously Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science).  In January 2004 Robert accepted a position with Cobham Composite Products, and worked there until December 2011.

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