NASA’s Kennedy Space Center has recently installed a new LEWCO industrial oven, for researchers to use in their R&D laboratory to cure various vacuum bagged composite components.

After talking with NASA and receiving specifications, LEWCO’s applications engineers proposed a custom industrial oven that proved to be the preeminent solution for the composite curing process.

As part of the process, NASA researchers lay-up various composite materials on custom tooling, and then place a vacuum bag over the layup to seal it to the tool. The tools are then placed on a cart to be loaded into the oven. Once in the oven, vacuum hoses are connected to the sealed bags and a vacuum pump removes air. Vacuum transducers continuously monitor the vacuum level to confirm compliance with the part recipe and the heating cycle begins, NASA informs in a press release.

The oven is controlled via a state-of-the-art Eurotherm Nanodac system which gives NASA the ability to create and store specific ramp/ soak recipes for different composite curing processes, as well as full data logging capability to record and analyze different batch results.

LEWCO’s senior applications engineer, Lou Schaefer said, “The investment in this oven is relatively minor for NASA, but it is one that will quickly pay-off and last forever, if properly maintained. It provides them with the technology to help develop new composite parts and materials.”

The Ohio-based company, LEWCO, Inc., was selected for the project due to their ability to meet the strict specifications for government and aerospace performance requirements. (GK)