Norco opens advanced composites manufacturing facility

Norco GRP Ltd. (Poole, Dorset, U.K.) reports that it has opened a new composites facility for the bespoke manufacture of parts and structures using prepreg, infusion and epoxy FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic).

Norco, which has established operations manufacturing glass fiber composites for marine applications, has expanded in recent years into aerospace, renewable and communication markets and decided that a new facilty was required to support growth. The new 16,000-ft²/1,486m² manufacturing facility was constructed in fourth quarter 2012 to amalgamate the existing and growing range of advanced composite projects. As of April 2013, it is fully operational.

The Norco Composites Centre features two separate work areas with twin-gantry, 16-ton overhead cranes at 12m/39.4m high. These were incorporated into the building design to ensure the capability of manufacturing and moving very large structures and the safe handling of the tooling. This allows Norco to undertake and cater for the growing market demand for larger composite structures.

The larger of the two bays house the two large composite curing ovens, the biggest being a modular oven 6m by 6m by 3m (20 by 20 by 9.8 ft). A smaller high-temperature oven 6m by 3m by 2m (20 by 9.8 by 6.6m) capable of 200°C/392°F is able to fulfil the high service temperature systems used in the oil and gas projects undertaken at Norco.

Composites project manager Henry Nicholson-Cole says, "One of the fundamental factors to successful out-of-autoclave-cured prepreg components is having full control of the cure parameters, so investment in very high quality ovens pays dividends in reliability and repeatability." Both ovens are able to maintain ±3°C within their operating envelope and run on their own independent programmable computers offering continuous real time monitoring of part temperatures.

Currently the workshop is producing carbon fiber superyacht tenders and also lightweight prepreg communication radomes that employ rusable silicone bag technology for reduction in manufacturing time and consumables cost. Norco also has just shipped a prototype full flight simulator which is a contract resulting from the culmination of a two-year, four-party design and development program that also used the MouldCAM (Poole, Dorset, U.K., and Bristol, R.I.) CNC facility for patterns and mold production.