CAPE Laboratory

Taricco Corporation autoclaves are built to meet and exceed A.S.M.E and National Board Codes and Standards and come fully loaded with a 3 piece door locking closure system with NO rotation of door that will scuff the door seal. This Taricco autoclave is comprised of fully forged locking rings, machined locking ring lugs, a fully automated hydraulic locking mechanism, patented integral hinge system, internal insulation, self diagnostic PLC hardware, and TCS control system software for Windows based control which provides our customers with added safety and a higher standard of quality.

Features

• 4' x 10' interior dimensions
• 825°F max
• 300 psi ma
• Computer control and logging

Application

• Composite curing

The Wisconsin Walk in Oven is an electrically-heated environmental chamber for composite curing, heat treatment, and curing powder coatings. The EWN batch oven is rated for a continuous maximum operating temperature of 850°F.  The high volume, low velocity airflow provides excellent temperature uniformity for modern powder curing applications and composite manufacturing control.

Features

• 850°F maximum
• Honeywell digital strip-chart recorder
• 6' x 6' x 10' working volume
• 7,000 CFM recirculation blower
• 108kW heat capacity
• Heavy gauge construction with aluminized interior
• Microprocessor based temperature controller with "auto-tune"

Application

• Composites Parts Fabrication
• Process Temperature Control
• Powder Coating
• Heat Treatment

The CAPE Lab has a two muffle furnaces for general laboratory use, including gravimetric analysis, sintering, quantitative analysis and heat treating.

Resin transfer molding is a positive injection pressure molding process with either central or single side cavity injection utilizing a diverging flow front from the injection point to the exit vents located at the perimeter of the cavity.  Designed for injecting polyester, vinyl ester and methacrylate resins and peroxide catalyst, at controlled flow rates and pressure.  Using pressures up to 50 PSI the process requires tooling to be capable of withstanding internal injection pressure without deflecting the mold cavity.

Features

• 100 cc Resin / 4.5 cc Catalyst pump system with adjustable ratio
• On-board 5 gal stainless steel solvent reservoir with variable purge amounts
• Compact automatic injection head with re-circulation and low mix wastage, including easily removed NRV valves for ratio checking
• Electronic MPG injection pressure sensor & electronic regulator

The DCS1500 cutting table provides CNC-automated fabric and polymer sheet cutting capabilities.  This easy to operate system enables the lab to produce samples, prototypes, or short production runs.

Features

• Cutting area - 54" x 66"
• GUI for cutting automation
• File type supported: ".dxf" 2-D drawing format
• Cutting speed - 55" per second
• Wheel cutter or drag knife
• Built in vacuum cabinet for decreasing fly

Applications

• Sample fabric/polymer cutting
• Component ply cutting
• Experiment test sample preparation
• Production fabric kitting
• Pen plotting

The Wabash Genesis press is used for compression molding of rubber, plastics and composites, and laminating and assembly of preimpregnated thermoset and thermopolymer composites.
Heated platens are capable of producing temperatures up to 800°F allowing the production of a large number of composite, ceramic, and thermoplastic parts.

Features

• Programmable control (up to 12 heated and cooled cure recipes)
• 0 to 100 tons clamping force
• 24" x 24", 800°F max heated (15°F/min. heat-up rate) and water-cooled platens
• Water-cooled platens

Applications

• Compression molding
• Film stacking
• Thermoplastic and thermoset composite part

The Carver Presses are used for compression molding of rubber, plastics and composites, and laminating and assembly of preimpregnated thermoset and thermoplastic composites.

Features

• 0-30 ton clamping force
• 15" x 15", 650°F max heated and water-cooled platens
• Programmable heating, cooling and force control

Technical Specifications

• Compression molding
• Film stacking
• Thermoplastic and thermoset composite parts

This mill is useful for tool/fixture fabrication and post-cure machining of composite components and assemblies.  Creation of deep, complex molds is possible with this machine.

Features

• 22.5 HP, high torque, 10,000rpm spindle
• Travel (X x Y x Z): 60" x 30" x 30"
• Chilled air and flood cooling
• Fully enclosed with dust/oil mist collection
• Fadal 88HS Controller (8MB memory)
• 21 station geneva-style tool changer
• Cast iron box ways on all three axes
• Remote control

Applications

• Pressed sandwich laminate structures
• Compression molded rubber and plastic parts
• Thermoplastic and thermoset composite parts

Technical Specifications

• Adjustable clamp force: 0 to 100 tons
• Platen size: 24" x 24"
• Heated Platens up to 800°F (15°F/min. heat-up rate)
• Automatic transfer from closing to pressing speed

Features

• 5,000 RPM Max
• A-axis travel: ±90°
• B-axis travel: 360° continuous
• Fadal 88HS Controller (8MB memory

Accessories

• Broad range of HSK tool holders and collets

Applications

• Surface finishing/contouring of complex tools, parts and templates

The HAAS SL-30 has a max turning capacity of 17" x 34" and a 10" chuck and with a bar capacity of up to 3.0". This turning center features robust headstock castings with symmetric ribs for rigidity and thermal stability; on-the-fly wye-delta switching for high performance throughout the rpm range; and embedded chip trays and high-volume coolant systems for efficient chip removal. This machine is useful in production of mandrels, individual components, and post cure machining of composite parts.

Features

• CNC turning with precision of 0.003" or greater

Applications

• Mold making
• Metal component fabrication
• Post cure machining of composite structures

Technical Specifications

• Spindle speed - 3,400 RPM
• Max spindle torque - 300ft-lb, 407 Nm @ 700 RPM
• Spindle shaft power - 30 HP, 22 kW
• Spindle nose - A2-6
• Spindle bore - 3.50", 88.9mm
• Draw tube bore - 3.03", 77mm
• Swing diameter - 30", 762mm over front apron; 14.5", 368mm over cross slide
• Chuck size - 10.0", 254mm
• Max bar capacity - 3.0", 76mm
• Distance between centers - 39.0", 991mm
• Max cutting diameter - 17.0", 432mm
• Max cutting length - 34.0", 864mm

The Engis tool Polishing Set includes ultrasonic finishing and control.  With a variety of tips and dies, composite part finishing is made easy.

Features

• Diprosonic DUS-300
• Polytor USP 2000
• Automatic frequency adjusted accordingly by a feedback system
• Audible sound for on/off
• Very high frequency (18 -25 kHz)
• Lightweight hand pieces

Accessories

• Broad range of hand tools
• Multiple tips and fittings
• Precision tips and files

Applications

• Precision finishing and polishing of metal or composite tools
• Finishing narrow cavities and slots

The Stratasys Fortus 400 is a top of the line prototyping machine capable of continuous unattended production. With high resolution and detail capability this system provides many options for manufacturing composites and polymers. Creation of complex molds is possible with this machine. The advanced technology of Fortus makes the mechanical properties of the part the most accurate, stable, and durable.

Features

• High accuracy:  [ ± 0.127 mm] or [ ±0.0381 mm / mm]* whichever is greater
• Highest resolution and feature detail capability:  0.005 inch (0.127 mm) for highest feature detail and best surface finish

Applications

• Rapid Prototyping Mold
• Creating high performance parts with tight tolerance
• Multiple material options for range of applications
• Capable of multiple color parts in a single build 
  

Technical Specifications

• Material Options
  -- ABS-M30 thermoplastic
  -- ABS-M30i thermoplastic
  -- ABSi thermoplastic
  -- PC-ABS thermoplastic
  -- PC thermoplastic
  -- PC-ISO thermoplastic
  -- ULTEM* 9085 thermoplastic
  -- PPSF thermoplastic
• Bay 16 x 14 x 16 inches (406 x 356 x 406 mm)
• Four auto load canister bays of 92 cubic inches each
• Two build material bays  
  
• Two support material bays

Designed and engineered to improve the productivity and versatility of prepreg manufacturing, this thermoset prepreg machine can hot melt impregnate 12” wide webs of uniaxial fiber tows and woven fabrics with a max speed of 100 ft/min

A product development and/or manufacturing line for tapes, sheets, cylindrical and custom-profiled strands, and long-fiber pellets. This system, developed and built by CAPE, comprises proprietary impregnation and forming technology. Turn-key CAPE-TIM systems are available for sale to interested clients.

MAAC Model ASP is a 30”x 36” single-station thermoforming machine designed for small part production, R & D and prototyping purposes. Both neat and fiber-reinforced (composite) sheets can formed to a desired shape in under 1 minute cycle times.

The FARO Laser ScanArm V3 is ideal for inspection, point cloud-to-CAD comparison, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering, and 3D modeling.  The ability to hard-probe measure simple point variations, then laser scan sections for larger volumes of data allows the lab to save time when designing and classifying systems.  This is done without the wasted time of adding/removing attachments, untangling cabling, or importing data from another CMM.

CAPE uses Geomagic Studio and Qualify for reverse engineering and inspection.

Features

• Accuracy: 35μm (.0014")
• Repeatability: ±35μm, 2σ (±.0014")
• Stand-off: 95mm (3.75")
• Depth of Field: 85mm (3.35")
• Effective Scan Width: Near field 34mm (1.34")
• Far field 60mm (2.36")
• Laser Line Probe V3 Specifications
• Points per Line: 640 points/line
• Scan Rate: 30 frames/second

Applications

• Reverse Engineering
• Certification
• Part Inspection
• Tool Building & Certification
• Alignment
• Part Inspection
• Mold and Die Inspection
• Prototype Part Scanning