We continue to report on the manufacturing of the composite leaf spring for the NOVA-2 airship.

At the previous stage, the tooling was fabricated and prepared. After impregnation with epoxy resin and final finishing, it achieved the required strength and dimensional accuracy.

Second stage: forming the leaf spring

Based on the finished tooling, a rigid mold was produced to define the geometry of the future leaf spring.
In parallel, a silicone form was made, used to ensure correct placement of the composite materials and to deliver the required precision during forming.

At the current stage, the composite plies are being prepared:
the materials have been cut into preforms of various configurations and are ready for layup.

The layup is performed according to a pre-calculated layup schedule —
with plies oriented in different directions (longitudinal and transverse), which allows us to achieve the required stiffness and strength characteristics of the component.

Next stage

After the layup is complete, the mold with the composite plies will be placed in an oven for curing.
The curing process is carried out within a controlled temperature range — from 40 to 140°C, depending on the materials used and the required characteristics of the component.

Work is ongoing — in the next update, we will show the forming process and the manufacturing results.

Learn more about the New Generation Airships project.

*The translation is done with the help of artificial intelligence.

Learn more