The U.S. Air Force has identified out-of-autoclave (OoA) materials as vital to achieving fast and affordable manufacturing for future military platforms. OoA materials are anticipated to deliver a 30-40% cost advantage over conventional autoclave materials, however several hurdles remain that prevent more widespread adoption of OoA material systems. One particularly challenging issue is surface pitting, caused by air entrapment between the laminate and tool surface, which the low processing pressures inherent in the OoA vacuum bagging system are unable to remove. While several workaround solutions have been attempted, they do not meet the necessary requirements for repeatable, affordable, high-volume manufacturing of OoA composites.
Keywords: Out-Of-Autoclave, Composite Tooling, Surface Engineering, Multi-Functional
