Resin Transfer Molding continues to gain acceptance as a process of choice for critical aerospace and defense applications. Inhibiting this acceptance rate are the high costs historically associated with tooling and non-recurring efforts during development programs. Increased focus on alternative methods to reduce these costs is necessary to ensure that the RTM process is not eliminated early in the down-selection phase. The primary challenge is to make RTM affordable for any volume application, while the key toward successful implementation is the development of a flexible molding approach. This paper addresses the issue of affordability and presents innovative Modular Tooling concepts employed on the RWSTD Apache effort. It also discusses how this approach may be applicable to other RTM affordability challenges.
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