Meeting the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) exacting standards is a formidable challenge for any aerospace manufacturer.
sensXPERT
Aircraft Maintenance Worker and Engineer having Conversation. Ho
Aircraft Maintenance Worker and Engineer having Conversation. Holding Tablet.
Under EASA Part 21, aerospace companies must meet strict requirements for the design and production of aircraft parts, including comprehensive documentation, traceability and consistent quality assurance. This framework affects every production decision, from material selection to curing protocols. Any change in manufacturing processes must be verifiably safe, traceable and repeatable, with data to back it up, posing challenges for companies seeking to innovate while staying within compliance boundaries.
This tension is particularly pronounced in the manufacturing of composite components. To ensure compliance and safety, many aerospace manufacturers apply conservative safety margins across a range of curing methods – whether in autoclaves or closed-mould processes like VARTM. These include extended cycle times, cautious demolding thresholds and exhaustive process documentation to satisfy certification requirements. While effective in ensuring safety, these practices come at the expense of prolonged cycle times, elevated energy consumption and increased costs.
This was the dilemma facing a leading aerospace manufacturer in Europe, committed to innovation but limited by static curing protocols built around conservative cycle estimates. In its search for a solution that would enable both compliance and efficiency, the company turned to sensXPERT.
Launched to translate advanced dielectric analysis (DEA) into scalable process control, sensXPERT introduced a new layer of intelligence into the aerospace manufacturer’s vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding (VARTM). The sensXPERT solution brought real-time, in-mould material characterisation into the process, providing direct insights into critical parameters, such as the degree of cure, glass transition temperature (Tg) and viscosity.
For the first time, the manufacturer could monitor and control the curing behaviour of epoxy-based carbon fibre composites from within the mould, removing the guesswork from the process and reducing the need for lengthy safety buffers. This enabled a shift from static safety buffers to dynamic, data-driven process adjustments.
The results were decisive. By accurately determining when the material reached the manufacturer’s target degree of cure and glass transition temperature, sensXPERT helped reduce average VARTM cycle times by 13% with peaks of up to 20%. The solution also improved energy efficiency by as much as 23%, all while maintaining the high part quality and safety standards required in aerospace manufacturing. Throughout the process, sensXPERT provided full transparency into in-mould material behaviour, prompting confident, real-time decision-making.
In the words of a seasoned composites leader at the company, “The combination of reduced cycle times, increased energy efficiency and improved process transparency underscore the value of real-time monitoring and dynamic adjustments in achieving operational excellence. It is an invaluable contributor to what our company aims to be, the leader in the aerospace industry.”
The collaboration between this aerospace manufacturer and sensXPERT continues, now shifting from a pre-production setup to serial manufacturing.
As aerospace manufacturers push to scale production without compromising quality, technologies like sensXPERT show that innovation and compliance no longer need to be at odds.