Veelo Technologies has developed heating blanket solutions which are helping composite rotor blade manufacturers and repair facilities keep blades out of the oven (OoO). Veelo’s patented heating blankets can be tailored for use in debulking and bonding applications and used in-situ, eliminating the need to transport long and bulky rotor blades to an oven.

Eliminating that transportation step helps improve build and repair rates while reducing scrap.

Due to their uniquely flexible and pliable design, Veelo’s heating blankets are highly drapable and provide uniform heating coverage across the large and geometrically complex surface areas found on rotor blades. Veelo heating blankets easily accommodate custom shapes and large tools with minimal or few bridging issues. They are durable and damage resistant and are offered in an optional FKM-based heater system for high performance and material compatibility.

Veelo heating blankets are controlled by the VeeloHEAT Controller, a cost-effective solution capable of controlling systems that can be adapted to the end-use application with 16 or more output channels. The digital IoT controller can store data and receive updates locally or via the cloud and is highly customisable.

According to Joe Sprengard, president and CEO at Veelo, “Our VeeloHEAT solution is currently used by the aerospace composites industry to bond and repair multi-million-dollar composite aerostructures. We are helping them accelerate adhesive cure, perform faster composite repairs, and improve the debulk processes. For rotor blades specifically, the net-shape draping that occurs with our blankets can help a manufacturer or repair facility realise substantial savings and improvement in build and repair rates. We provide an effective alternative to taking these blades to the oven.”