Three European companies with expertise in simulation modeling, manufacturing process development and tooling for reinforced thermoplastic applications have joined the “FRAMES” research project seeking to produce a lightweight rear fuselage and empennage for aircraft. The project is run by the French technology institute Estia-Compositadour (Bidart; www.estia.fr) .

Heraeus Noblelight (Cambridge/ United Kingdom; www.heraeus.com), a developer of UV and infrared technology for industrial applications, is tasked with creating an optical-thermal simulation model for fibre placement and fast skin layup. Xelis (Markdorf/ Germany; www.xelis.de), a developer and manufacturer of thermoplastic composite solutions, will focus on the design the manufacturing process for the aircraft part, and industrial mould maker Cero France(Challans/ France; www.cero.fr) is to build a self-heating tooling solution that allows for a consolidated one-shot process.

The companies are scheduled to participate in the project for two-and-a-half years. “FRAMES” (fibre-reinforced thermoplastics manufacturing for stiffened, complex, double-curved structures) is part of the “Clean Sky 2” initiative, Europe’s largest research programme for developing innovations that reduce noise and CO₂ and other gas emissions from aircraft.