'Huancuizao' helps the world's largest cargo drone make a stunning debut

Recently, the world's largest cargo drone, the White Whale Route W5000, made a stunning debut at the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow. Its cool design and high performance have attracted the attention of industry professionals, and 240 orders were signed at the exhibition site. The carbon fiber composite material used in the fuselage of the "White Whale Route" is authentic "made in Weihai". Recently, reporters visited Weihai Baowei New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Baowei") to explore the secrets behind the company's production.

The aircraft you see, except for the nose, is made entirely of carbon fiber composite materials produced by Baowei. For cargo drones, weight reduction is the biggest demand, as lighter weight can carry more cargo. "Jiang Bo, the general manager of Weihai Baowei New Material Technology Co., Ltd., introduced that after using carbon fiber composite materials on the fuselage, the" weight loss "effect of the White Whale Route W5000 is particularly significant, effectively reducing the weight of the aircraft by 40%. It is reported that the "White Whale Route" has a body length of 22.89 meters, a wingspan of 22.70 meters, a height of 7.83 meters, a maximum takeoff weight of 10.8 tons, a maximum payload capacity of 5 tons, a maximum payload range of 2600 kilometers, and can fly over 800 kilometers under full load.

Compared with other cargo aircraft in the same field, the advantages of lightweight, high payload capacity, and long endurance are very obvious. For example, the ATR aircraft produced by European companies has a range of over 1500 kilometers, and the ATR42-500 aircraft has a maximum commercial load of 2.46 tons and a maximum takeoff weight of 9.3 tons. From the comparison of data, it can be seen that the carrying capacity of the "White Whale" is very strong, which has lowered the air freight cost of cargo planes. Its current shipping cost can reach 2.7 yuan/ton kilometer, which is basically the same level as land-based trucks. It is very popular among express delivery companies, and many domestic and foreign companies are competing to buy it, "Jiang Bo said. The strength of the "White Whale" is closely related to the carbon fiber composite materials produced by Baowei, and Baowei's confidence and secret come from the mysterious "Black Lamp Factory". Baowei's' Black Lamp Factory 'took 10 years and invested 520 million yuan to build. It is the first modern super factory in the global carbon fiber industry based on digitalization and AI control. From material entry into the workshop to finished product storage, no one is needed to participate in the whole process, "Jiang Bo said. When it comes to the advantages of the black lamp factory, many people think of cost reduction and efficiency improvement. More importantly, intelligent production can ensure stable product quality and high production efficiency. Generally, it takes 1 hour for a company to produce a roll of carbon fiber prepreg, while the' Black Lamp Factory 'only takes 5 minutes, truly realizing standardization, automation, networking, and intelligence.

Nowadays, the construction of Baowei New Materials Intelligent Factory Project (Phase II) is in full swing. The total investment of the second phase project is 500 million yuan, and the main body has been capped. Internal and external decoration construction is currently underway. "Jiang Bo introduced that the second phase project will build an internationally leading 5G collaborative automation intelligent factory, producing lightweight carbon fiber components for aerospace and industrial drone accessories.

During the construction of the first phase of the project, it took 9 months from start to finish, creating the 'three years' of land acquisition, completion, and production, "Jiang Bo said with a smile. The Baowei Phase II project will build an internationally leading 5G collaborative automation intelligent factory, producing lightweight carbon fiber components for aerospace and industrial drone accessories. These products will be widely used in advanced manufacturing fields such as domestic large aircraft.