Defence

Many defence applications rely on prepreg materials supplied by Advanced Composites Group (ACG) for a wide variety of structures. The Groups willingness to provide bespoke solutions for specific applications and environments is the key element that sets it apart from its competitors.

Products are currently supplied for aircraft prototypes, UAVs and UCAVs, space launchers, space structures, radomes, missiles, communication antenna, and for a wide variety of armour and other land, sea and air based ballistic applications.

ACG offers a range of prepreg, film and liquid resin products specifically developed for the cost-efficient manufacture of defence structures. Our range includes Epoxy, Phenolic, BMI, Polyester and other chemistries.

Our extensive product range now includes materials for low pressure/low temperature out-of-autoclave (OOA) moulding and for the infusion of dry fabric pre-forms, as well as for more traditional 120°C/180°C [248°F/356°F] autoclave processes.

In addition, ACG has been actively working with airworthiness authorities to develop detailed procedures for the provision of an approved ‘public domain’ design-allowable database. The objective of this work is a large reduction in the cost of, and timescale for the certification of components manufactured from new materials for UAV applications.

Full product control specifications, process control specifications and data reports are available on request.

Our Ballistic Product Selector Guide (PSG) is designed to provide a quick and easy way to select composite materials for ballistic applications. General indications on mechanical performance and processing are also highlighted in the PSG. Full product details can be found in our standard product data sheets, which are located in our data catalogue. Specific details are available on request from our comprehensive fibre/resin material database.

Please refer to our data catalogue for a complete range of products. Use the Quick Links (above - left) to access the data catalogue and PSG.

Total Customer Support for the Defence Industry

Production Capabilities

• BS EN ISO 9001 and AS9100 (prEN 9100) Approved Quality Assurance.
• Batch hot melt prepreg manufacture to exact customer specifications.
• Hot melt adhesive coating.
• Rapid turnaround, J.I.T. delivery to agreed schedules.
• Full batch traceability.

Research and Development Facilities

• Complete composite materials test capability, including mechanical testing, DSC, DMTA, TMA, Rheology, FTIR, HPLC, Dilatometry, Image analysis.
• Dedicated test house - ACG Technology Centre.
• Vacuum, press and autoclave moulding.
• CNC machining, 5-axis 3.5m x 2.5m x 1.5m bed integrated with CAD/CMM.
• Finite Element Analysis (FEA) mechanical database preparation.
• Prototype/concept part manufacture and testing.

Technical Support

• Assistance with data generation, reduction, test plan and specification preparation plus other airworthiness related tasks.
• Dedicated customer support team with on-site support and demonstration.
• Composite design engineering/manufacturing approved to ISO AS9100.
• Rapid response to all telephone enquiries.