Aerospace automation specialist Loop Technology will soon take delivery of seven FANUC industrial robots, including four of the largest ever ordered in the UK, as part of a new aerospace project looking to solve composite manufacturing challenges.

In July 2023, the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) announced that government investment of £50m had been secured to establish the COMPASS (Composites at Speed and Scale) facility.

This new innovation facility in Sheffield will see a a consortium of partners, including Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, Loop Technology and the AMRC, attempt to help solve composite manufacturing challenges in order to meet future demand for lighter commercial aircraft and help the aviation industry reach net zero.

According to the AMRC, this facility aims to derisk and develop high-rate sustainable structures, with the potential to reduce large component process times from 40 hours to around four hours.

Building work is expected to...