Dark Matter Composites to highlight its expertise at JEC World 2023

Industry demand keeps Dark Matter Composites busy with challenging consultancy, design & prototyping. Specialising in difficult projects & fast turnaround: recent work includes aerospace production startup, marine craft development, R1 rail products & electric aircraft ruddervator detailed design.

Best known for its ‘train the trainer’ program alongside the A350 wing spar development with GKN Aerospace, DMC has completed a number of aerospace, defence, marine and rail programs where the product development and upskilling of personnel occurs in parallel.

With numerous non-disclosure agreements in place, DMC can’t share the developments and progress currently being made. During the recent pandemic, a significant reduction in training course provision and global composite programs was compensated for by a number of development and consultancy activities that had been on the increase prior to the pandemic. This has led to DMC expanding its capacity for consultancy, design and prototyping services.

Through training courses, DMC attracts a wide range of companies and personnel looking to get into composites or to make more extensive use of composites in their products. During training courses, the open and honest approach to composites, both advantages and also disadvantages, is as much ‘knowledge transfer’ as training. When it comes to engaging with composite experts, DMC is a natural choice for many OEMs with their cross sector approach to composites.

Throughout it’s activities, DMC promotes front loading composite design activities with an intuitive and creative approach. Customer’s from the courses are already able to communicate at a technical level in relation to composites and understand the options available to them, reducing barriers to moving forward. This significantly reduces turn around times and can fast track development programs, saving money.

Consultancy, design and prototyping activities over recent years have included aerospace, automotive, civil engineering, consumer products, defence, marine, orthotics/prosthetics and rail industry sectors to name a few and recent activities have included:

• Sourcing, trialling, process optimising, testing and selection of materials providing pin-hole free oven cure pre-pregs parts and R1 fire rated rail products
• Taking naval architect designs and turning them into full composite production designs, laminate schedules and process documents for certification purposes
• Detailed design of an electric aircraft’s rear ruddervator structure alongside training/mentoring personnel
• Producing prototype composite parts that in theory have zero factors of safety but in reality exceed what can be achieved
• Production of prototypes for testing, evaluation and certification purposesProducing ‘build to print’ composite production documentation and supporting initial production activities
• Design and production of intricate composite production tooling for aerospace and prototypes
• New production facility designs, layouts and specifications, including hazardous material analysis and design of suitable ventilation and services

Operating cross sector, DMC often sees examples of poor composite applications and designs. Being able to assist companies see the whole composite picture up front avoids costly mistakes, reduces timeframes and most importantly minimises development risk. This additional capacity will allow DMC and it’s customers to grow composites further into the future and be ambitious.

Meet Dark Matter Composites at JEC World 2023, hall 6, booth S52.