NASA 1996 SBIR Phase I

PROJECT TITLE : Commercial Production of LaRC Polyimide Films Using Continuous Roll Technology

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)

A need exists for economical versatile machinery for continuous precision casting of LaRC CP1 and LaRC CP2 polyimides, developed by NASA, in prototype or small-run quantities. Most existing film casting machinery is designed for large scale production, and entails a large capital investment. SRS's innovative solution casting technology, developed for fabrication of precision doubly-curved thin film structures for space deployable solar concentrators and antennas, may be efficiently transferred to casting of continuous polymer films. By the SRS process, arbitrarily wide films may be cast without requiring use of precision rolls or extrusion dies. The concept feasibility will be demonstrated in Phase I, and a small-scale production machine will be developed in Phase II, and product film runs will be characterized.

SRS has identified a market for high performance polyimide films. These polyimides have applications in the space and electronics industry. The film casting machine proposed will enable production of high quality poliymide films in roll quantities at realistic cost.

James P. Paxton
SRS Technologies
500 Discovery Drive
Huntsville, Alabama 35806

SRS Technologies
500 Discovery Drive
Huntsville, Alabama 35806