Exel Composites is advancing composite manufacturing for FLYING WHALES' LCA60T heavy-lift airship, reaching a production milestone at its Joensuu, Finland, facility. The site has established a new production area equipped with several pull-winding lines to manufacture the composite tubes required for the first LCA60T airship frame.
Pull-winding combines continuous fiber reinforcement with a controlled winding process to produce lightweight, high-strength composite tubes. The continuous manufacturing approach provides consistent geometry and repeatable production while allowing the tube design to be tailored to structural requirements. Exel is applying the process to the tubular structures required for the LCA60T frame.
The current phase focuses on process validation. Exel will demonstrate that its pull-winding equipment and process parameters can consistently produce the required composite tubes with the dimensional accuracy, quality, and repeatability needed for the first airship frame. This validation is particularly important for aerospace applications, where manufacturing processes must deliver consistent component performance and tight tolerances.
The Joensuu production area draws on Exel's experience in continuous composite manufacturing and brings together production, quality, application engineering, operations, and development capabilities. The facility is also the company's hub for advanced composite tubes and pull-winding technology, supporting programs from process development and validation through industrial-scale production.
The LCA60T is being developed as a 60-tonne-capacity airship for transporting large and heavy loads. Its large frame requires lightweight structural components that can provide the required stiffness and strength without adding unnecessary mass. Pull-wound composite tubes offer a route to producing these structures through a continuous process.
Vincent Guibout, CEO of FLYING WHALES, said the milestone supports the LCA60T program's move toward industrial readiness. He also highlighted Exel's composite expertise, process control, and production capabilities as important to the next stages of the program.
Paul Sohlberg, CEO and President of Exel Composites, said the new production area strengthens the company's manufacturing capabilities and supports the process control and repeatability required for aerospace applications such as the LCA60T.
The production milestone represents a shift from composite process development toward validated manufacturing for the first LCA60T frame. Further industrialization will depend on demonstrating that the pull-winding process can repeatedly meet the program's quality and manufacturing requirements at the required production scale.
Source: Exel Composites | News
