December 7, 2018 | International, Aerospace
First-agreement of its kind will repurpose aerospace-grade composite material for making laptop cases, car parts and other products
Partnership will reduce solid waste by more than one million pounds a year
SEATTLE, Dec. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE:BA] and ELG Carbon Fibre today announced a partnership to recycle excess aerospace-grade composite material, which will be used by other companies to make products such as electronic accessories and automotive equipment.
The agreement – the first of its kind for the aerospace industry – covers excess carbon fiber from 11 Boeing airplane manufacturing sites and will reduce solid waste by more than one million pounds a year.
Carbon-fiber reinforced material is extremely strong and lightweight, making it attractive for a variety of uses, including in building the super-efficient 787 Dreamliner and the all-new 777X airplane.
As the largest user of aerospace-grade composites from its commercial and defense programs, Boeing has been working for several years to create an economically viable carbon fiber reuse industry. The company improved its production methods to minimize excess and developed a model for collecting scrap material.
But technical barriers stood in the way of repurposing material that had already been "cured" or prepped for use in the airplane manufacturing process. UK-based ELG developed a proprietary method to recycle "cured" composites so they do not have to be thrown out.
"Recycling cured carbon fiber was not possible just a few years ago," said Tia Benson Tolle, Boeing Materials & Fabrication director for Product Strategy & Future Airplane Development. "We are excited to collaborate with ELG and leverage innovative recycling methods to work toward a vision where no composite scrap will be sent to landfills."
To prove that the recycling method can be applied on a grand scale, Boeing and ELG conducted a pilot project where they recycled excess material from Boeing's Composite Wing Center in Everett, Wash., where the massive wings for the 777X airplane are made.
ELG put the excess materials through treatment in a furnace, which vaporizes the resin that holds the carbon fiber layers together and leaves behind clean material. Over the course of 18 months, the companies saved 380,000 pounds of carbon fiber, which was cleaned and sold to companies in the electronics and ground transportation industries.
"Security of supply is extremely important when considering using these materials in long-term automotive and electronic projects," said Frazer Barnes, managing director of ELG Carbon Fibre. "This agreement gives us the ability to provide that assurance, which gives our customers the confidence to use recycled materials."
Based on the success of the pilot project, Boeing says the new agreement should save a majority of the excess composite material from its 11 sites, which will support the company's goal to reduce solid waste going to landfills 20 percent by 2025.
"This collaboration takes Boeing's commitment to protect the environment to a whole new level. Recycling composites will eventually be as commonplace as recycling aluminum and titanium," said Kevin Bartelson, 777 Wing Operations leader.
Boeing and ELG are considering expanding the agreement to include excess material from three additional Boeing sites in Canada, China and Malaysia.
As a result of the partnership, ELG estimates the number of its employees will nearly triple from 39 in 2016 to an expected 112 by the end of 2019 as the recycling market continues to expand.
Contact:
Todd Kelley
425-373-8388
todd.e.kelley@boeing.com
SOURCE Boeing
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Joe Gould The U.S. Army is ordering second-generation manpack radios from L3Harris Technologies and Collins Aerospace worth $203.2 million, ahead of a forthcoming operational test that will inform a full-rate production decision next fiscal year. The Army said April 29 it awarded a negotiated bilateral firm-fixed-price delivery orders to Collins, of Iowa, and L3Harris, of New York, for a total of 3,440 (1,720 each) radios and ancillaries. Delivery, which is part of its third low-rate production order, are to begin in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. The radios are a key element to what the service calls the integrated tactical network, the concept behind the Army's modernized battlefield network which will incrementally add capabilities units every two years beginning in 2021. The orders will support the ITN and tactical satellite modernization efforts, as well as security force assistance brigades and future deployments, according to the Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T). L3Harris announced it received a $95 million low-rate initial production order for AN/PRC-158 multi-channel radios, while Collins said it received an order for its AN/PRC-162 ground radios, worth the remaining value of the award―about $108 million. Both fall under the five-year HMS (Handheld, Manpack & Small Form-Fit) indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, which has a $12.7 billion ceiling and a five-year extension option for the Army. “L3Harris is proud to deliver the most critical part of the U.S. Army's Integrated Tactical Network, enabling secure multi-mission capability in the most challenging and contested environments,” said Dana Mehnert, L3Harris's president for communication systems. “The AN/PRC-158 will equip soldiers with cutting-edge waveforms, providing resilient SATCOM and advanced wideband networking at the tactical edge.” In a statement, Ryan Bunge, Collins Aerospace's vice president and general manager for communication, navigation and guidance solutions, said "our ground radio gives warfighters access to the most advanced networked communication technology available, ultimately leading to improved situational awareness and mission success. We've delivered superior communications capabilities with our airborne radios for decades, and we've leveraged that expertise to provide a complete, interoperable solution for both ground and air assets at the lowest life cycle cost.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2020/04/29/l3harris-and-collins-split-203m-order-for-army-radios/