In an educational session earlier this morning, Brock Strunk, engineer for Spirit Aerosytems, weighed the benefits of replacing or repairing parts on composite aircraft structures. The session, Integrated Composites Structures (ICS) Tooling for Commercial and Military Aircraft, focused on the need for each manufacturer to evaluate whether replacing or repairing a composite part is more beneficial. Strunk stressed that it’s important to create a plan because in today’s market there’s an increasing amount of product manufactured out of composites.
Strunk outlined several considerations each company must make when deciding to replace or repair composite parts. The first is cost. Is it more cost efficient to repair a damaged part or replace it? Many equate repairing as the quicker and easier method, but that is not always the case.
Second, how much time can you afford to lose? Strunk advised that it is a fine balance between what saves time in the here and now, and what will be sustainable.
Third, Strunk told attendees to evaluate their manufacturing environment as well as the environment their product will be placed in. A composites piece placed outdoors will most often be subject to harsher elements than those that are indoors.
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