our capabilities

    Leading Edge has in-house capability to manufacture molds and tooling using the highest quality tooling materials and craftsmanship. Our molds and tooling can be designed to handle a wide range of production volumes, dimensional requirements, and processing conditions depending on customer or project requirements. We have the capability of manufacturing pre-preg type parts utilizing various materials such as carbon fiber, Kevlar, and fiberglass up to cure temperatures of 500° F. Our climate controlled lay-up/clean room is designed to eliminate any possible contamination during fabrication of composite parts, as well as during any modifications or repairs prior to curing.

    In addition, Leading Edge Composites has experience
    and extensive capability in the design, layup, and molding/processing of liquid molded composite parts using VARTM and similar processes. These capabilities provide us the opportunity to supply our customers with the most durable, high tech, cost effective and light weight composite parts available.

    The employees of Leading Edge Composites have been well trained and have solid experience in the composite industry. Leading Edge Composites is committed to maintaining ongoing continuing education and training of our staff. We attend numerous product and material trade shows to make certain that we are involved with the new and upcoming high tech materials, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of the composites industry.


 

 

 
  Fabrication Capabilities
  • Mold and tool fabrication
  • Fabrication of jig fixtures
  • Wet lay-up of fiberglass, carbon & Kevlar
  • Prepregs lay-ups of fiberglass, carbon & Kevlar
  • Vacuum infusion/(VARTM)
  • Composite structure repairs
  • Composite structure modifications
  • Vacuum bagging
  • Oven cured parts up to 500° F
  • Autoclave parts up to 220 PSI at 500° F
  Design & Analysis Capabilities
  • Design of composite laminates and cored structures (honeycomb, balsa, foam, etc.)
  • Finite Element Analysis
    • PATRAN, NASTRAN, CATIA
    • Design/analysis of complex composite structures
    • Composite process modeling
  • Composite structure joint design
  • CAD/CAM - SolidWORKS, CATIA, PRO/Engineer
  • FiberSIM and CATIA flat pattern development for complex layups
  • Reverse Engineering and inspection of Geometry using portable CMM
   Product Development – R&D
  • Design for Manufacturing/Concurrent Engineering
  • Complete Product and Process Development
  • Composite Structure Joint Design
    • Adhesive Bonding
    • Mechanical Fasteners
    • Surface Treatment
    • Jig and Fixture Design
  • Complete machining capabilities for prototypes, tooling, and production
  • Rapid Prototyping – 3D Printing of small parts
   Mechanical Testing
  • Specimen preparation
    • Adhesive bonding (lap-shear, etc.)
    • Strain gage installation
    • Precision specimen machining/grinding
  • Mechanical Testing
    • Large variety of ASTM standard testing available
    • Elevated and low temperature testing
  • Custom test development and fixture design
    • Subcomponent, subelement, and full-scale testing of complex structures


  University of Delaware Consortium Member