Woven TPS being tested at the Arc Jet Center, NASA Ames Research Center. Photo courtesy of NASA Ames.
The National Space and Missile Materials Symposium (NSMMS) and the Commercial and Government Responsive Access to Space Technology Exchange (CRASTE) which are both space focused conferences will be held during June 24-27 in Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, Nevada. The main focus of these events are to discuss key technology issues related to space, missile, commercial space topics relating to our country’s defense and research and development.
Bally Ribbon Mills will highlight its Woven Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) for space, missile, and hypersonics. Our Advanced Product Group designs and produces woven structural shapes for hybrid composite structures used in aerospace applications. We understand the key performance characteristics that lead to successful aerospace products, and how to design woven goods to achieve that success.
Most recently, BRM has earned a prestigious Space Technology Award from NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). Now a TRL-6 project, the 3D TPS is used to support NASA’s heat shield for extreme entry environment technology team.
As electronics continue to shrink, becoming simultaneously more compact and powerful, they’re being used in an increasingly diverse range of products and devices.
In people’s everyday lives, this is most apparent in the Internet of Things (IoT) — the interconnection of devices and products via the internet that allow them to “communicate” with each other through the sending and receiving of data. Home appliances, thermostats, light bulbs, remotes, home security systems, and even clothing can now all be embedded with electronics and software allowing them to collect and exchange data. In hospitals, for example, “smart textiles” in clothing may be used to monitor patients’ vital signs.
To meet manufacturers and consumers’ shifting needs, Bally Ribbon Mills (BRM) is proud to offer our proprietary E-WEBBINGS®, an e-textile product base created by combining non-conductive fibers and specialized conductive elements. These products serve as the foundation layer to which electronic intercommunicative technology is integrated directly. E-WEBBINGS® are specifically designed to serve as a customizable base for a wide range of smart textile applications within the IoT.
Allowing for smaller final product size, lower weight, optimal user comfort, and significant cost savings, these smart textiles offer a range of benefits. But how do E-WEBBINGS® work, and how are they designed?
Before beginning work on designing and customizing E-WEBBINGS®, our engineers take the time to thoroughly understand the purpose and specific requirements of the end device, and we work closely with our clients throughout each step of the process to ensure all needs are met.
Every component and factor that goes into an E-WEBBINGS® textile is thoughtfully and carefully chosen, since each piece needs to work together seamlessly — the conductor, the base webbing, the power source, and the sensor. Often, choosing to work with one type of component necessitates the use of another. For example, if a sensor requires a robust power source, a larger wire may need to be used as the conductor. And, in this case, the webbing would then need to be thick enough to reliably protect and carry the wire.
Conductors
Conductive fibers or wires can be woven into the E-WEBBINGS® fabric itself. This allows for the transmission of power and information, without the need for additional wiring in the final component. This also helps cut down on the manufacturer’s bill of materials and allows for a simplified, streamlined end product. Various options are available for conductor type; the best fit will depend on the type of sensor used or specific power requirements.
Sensors
Options are virtually limitless for the number and types of sensors used, but decisions are typically made depending on where within the product the textile structure is located, and what types of information and data it needs to measure. Also, the natural properties of weaving can benefit certain sensors, depending on their size and shape, as certain weaves are better-suited to certain attachments and types of sewing.
Learn More
To learn more about E-WEBBINGS® from Bally Ribbon Mills or to discuss your next project with one of our experts, reach out to the team today.
At Bally Ribbon Mills (BRM), we design, develop, and manufacture high quality engineered webbing, tape, and narrow fabric. While our products’ applications vary across a range of industries, we focus particularly on the technology needed to manufacture specialized webbing for critical use applications.
We are proud of the role our critical use products have played in the aerospace industry, as well as our trusted partnership with NASA on recent projects. Last year, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden visited our facility to support our work on a new space mission technology, declaring, “From this day on, the path to Mars goes through Bally, Pennsylvania.”
In order to enhance our product capabilities to meet NASA’s needs, we have been implementing innovative weaving technologies using high strength fibers such as Kevlar®, Technora®, and Vectran® to develop complex webbing for aerospace products.
These lightweight materials comprise 3-D woven fabrics and multifunctional thermal protection system (TPS) padding for NASA directed commercial sector space vehicles. Our TPS padding was selected as the critical component of the heat shield on the Orion Crew Capsule, which helps protect against the extreme temperatures of atmospheric re-entry during missions to the moon, asteroids, or Mars.
We provide customers with robust complex materials optimized for the low pack volume and high energy absorption that critical use applications demand. Our advanced launch and recovery decelerator webbing has been key to the successful design of space rocket launch vehicles and capsule recovery programs. We also design T, X, and Pi shaped webbing for lighter-than-air inflatable airships, surveillance aerostats, and NASA directed commercial sector space vehicles (COTS).
Our high performance webbing has appeared in a variety of other aerospace, space, and commercial applications such as parachutes, flight suits, seat belts, seat construction, cargo netting reinforcement tapes, and crew safety components. We ensure that all of our products pass strict Mil-Spec, PIA-Spec, and Department of Defense Berry Amendment requirements for the procurement of fabrics and textiles.
BRM was proud to be featured as a Phase II Company in NASA’s highly competitive Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for our four year support of the Orion project, as well as our current work for an upcoming EM-1 mission. We are grateful for NASA’s commitment to integrating small businesses into its contractor base, and we are dedicated to leveraging our unique strengths to help pioneer the future of space exploration.
Want to Learn More?
Since 1923, Bally Ribbon Mills has been a leader in the design, development, and manufacture of 2-D and 3-D specialty webbing. Our custom engineering and diverse weaving technologies enable us to provide advanced products for both commercial and critical use applications.
To learn more about how 3-D woven composites outperform their metallic counterparts to support critical use applications, download our eBook The Benefits of 3-D Woven Composites.
Receive free admission for the IFAI Specialty Fabrics Expo & Advanced Textiles Expo Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA October 6th – 9th, 2015.
Come join Bally Ribbon Mills at the IFAI Specialty Fabrics Expo and the Advanced Textiles Expo. Our booth number is A640 located within the Advanced Textiles section of the conference center. A discount pass is available for download, courtesy of Bally Ribbon Mills and the Industrial Fabrics Association International.
About Bally Ribbon Mills
BRM is a leader in the design, development, and production of engineered narrow woven webbing, tape, and specialty fabric. For 90 years we have supplied the world with the highest quality webbing backed by unparalleled customer service and engineering support. Be confident that Bally Ribbon Mills will supply you with the best fabric for your products.
01/12/06 – Discussions of cost and benefits of various fibers, filaments, weaves, dyes and finishes to solve customer problems happen regularly at Bally.
With regard to Vectran®, forty persons from Bally Ribbon Mills Engineering, Research and Development, Quality and Sales Departments attended Seminars on Vectran® engineering specifications and solutions. Vectran woven by Bally Ribbon Mills offers some solutions and new opportunities in narrow fabrics for certain design requirements.
Vectran® is a high-performance multifilament yarn spun from Vectra® liquid crystal polymer (LCP). Vectran is the only commercially available melt spun LCP fiber in the world. Vectran fiber exhibits exceptional strength and rigidity. Pound for pound Vectran fiber is five times stronger than steel and ten times stronger than aluminum. These unique properties characterize Vectran:
High strength
Excellent creep resistance
High abrasion resistance
Excellent flex/fold characteristics
Minimal moisture absorption
Excellent chemical resistance
Low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)
High dielectric strength
Outstanding cut resistance
Excellent property retention at high/low temperatures
Outstanding vibration damping characteristics
High impact resistance
Vectran tends to outperform Kevlar® and other Aramids in:
Wire rope creep
Break strength
Dry and wet abrasion comparisons under load
Tenacity retention when exposed to bleach
Yarn on yarn abrasion dry and especially when wet
Flex fatigue from repeated bending or creasing
Bend tolerance
Impact and cut resistance
Vibration dampening
Kevlar® and other Aramids tend to outperform Vectran when there is simultaneous mechanical and thermal loading
* Overall performance dependent on environmental conditions and application.
We encourage you to visit the Vectran website, www.vectranfiber.com, and talk to Bally Ribbon Mills further.
For your information, the Kevlar website is www.dupont.com/kevlar. Bally Ribbon also handles Kevlar applications.
In people’s everyday lives, this is most apparent in the Internet of Things (IoT) — the interconnection of devices and products via the internet that allow them to “communicate” with each other through the sending and receiving of data. Home appliances, thermostats, light bulbs, remotes, home security systems, and even clothing can now all be embedded with electronics and software allowing them to collect and exchange data. In hospitals, for example, “smart textiles” in clothing may be used to monitor patients’ vital signs.
