Irkut Corporation (part of UAC of Rostec State Corporation), in cooperation with the South Russian State Polytechnic University, has created a domestic composite fiber laying robot to be used in the serial production of the MC-21 wing.

A prototype robot designed to create composite structures has been put into operation in the Moscow laboratory of the AeroComposite company, which is the UAC competence center in the field of innovative development and production of parts and assemblies from polymer composite materials.

The robot is used for automatic laying of dry carbon tape, which layer by layer forms the future part of the airliner. With the help of a laser, the carbon tape is heated and glued to the previous layer. The continuity of the process is ensured by the use of a tape rolled up on a reel with a length of 3000 to 3500 meters. All key elements of the robot, including the software and the tape laying system, are made in Russia.

'We have fully developed the domestic technology, having achieved high quality, speed and reliability of the system. The next goal is to scale up this solution for serial production of composite structures of the MC-21 wing and increase the volume to 36 aircraft units per year,' said Anatoly Gaydansky, First Deputy General Director of the Irkut Corporation, General Director of JSC AeroComposite.

At the end of last year, Irkut Corporation received approval from the Federal Air Transport Agency for major changes to the standard design of the MC-21 aircraft related to the installation of the Russian PD-14 engine and a wing made of domestically produced composite materials. The use of strong and lightweight composite materials made it possible to create a wing with unique aerodynamic characteristics that are unattainable for a metal wing, thus this latest technology has become one of the key features of this Russian aircraft.

(C) 2023 Electronic News Publishing, source ENP Newswire