Composites manufacturing
iCOMAT and CGTech push new frontiers CGTech, the developer of VERICUT verification, simulation and optimisation software, has announced an exciting reseller agreement with Bristol-based iCOMAT, pioneer of the first-ever defect-free tape-steering process for composite component production.
The special worldwide arrangement will see iCOMAT sell and support a dedicated version of VERICUT VCP/VCS software in support of its patented manufacturing process for composites. iCOMAT has registered notable growth since it began trading in 2019: today the company has almost 30 employees and a branch in Athens. Moreover, iCOMAT has plans to double its headcount in the coming 12 months, a move that will help spur ambitions for further international expansion. Providing the basis for this success is iCOMAT’s unique composites production process, known as Rapid Tow Shearing (RTS). Due to manufacturing limitations, conventional composite part design relies on straight fibre layers, leading to structures which use more material than necessary and are heavier and more expensive as a result. In contrast, iCOMAT’s innovative process enables the defect-free steering of composite tapes for the first time.
The placement of these tapes along complex load paths delivers highly optimised structures with dramatic weight savings and lower use of raw material in support of cost-effective and more sustainable composite parts. iCOMAT’s industrial cells comprise a proprietary tape-laying head mounted as an end effector to a state-of-the-art six-axis industrial robot arm, all located inside a safety cell. As part of this solution, programming and virtual simulation will come via a special version of VERICUT VCP (VERICUT Composites Programming)/VCS (VERICUT Composites Simulation) software complete with a new interface specifically for iCOMAT’s technology. iCOMAT will be the exclusive reseller of this software worldwide. Explains Dr Dominic Bloom, Business Development Manager at iCOMAT: “Software is an integral part of our turnkey offer; customers must program and simulate their composite
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Machinery & Manufacturing 50
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