84279Advanced Winding Capability For Next Generation Thermoplastic Composite TapesClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKThe COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the aerospace industry and it has had a devastating effect on the whole supply chain. As a consequence many airlines are accelerating plans to retire older fuel inefficient aircraft such as Boeing 747's and look to operate more environmentally friendly lightweight composite aircraft. Currently the Airbus A350 has the highest composite content at 53% but there are further opportunities to replace metallic parts with recyclable composite alternatives. Bindatex Advanced Materials Cutting specialises in the precision slitting of carbon fibre composites tapes for automated fibre placement in aerospace and this technology has been key to light weighting aircraft with thermoset composite materials which have the advantage of reducing the weight of aircraft but unfortunately are not currently recyclable. Further light weighting opportunities in aerospace have been identified by using recyclable digitally printed composite components to replace metallic parts. Bindatex has been developing technologies to format continuous carbon fibres into filaments which are needed to enable the progress of this technology. Success of the project will will help lead to the commercialisation of Digital Composite Printing and ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of the converting and formatting of the carbon fibre filaments whilst creating opportunities to recycle the in process waste created within the process.