Cevotec cooperated with GKN, Technical University of Munich, SGL Carbon and the University of Augsburg, aiming to use FPP to realize the fully automatic layup of sandwich parts and achieve a 7-10 times increase in layup speed.
Several organizations co-founded the organization-Regional Development and the Ministry of Energy and many other organizations worked together to launch a groundbreaking research and development project-MAI ACoSaLUS (Automatic Composite Sandwich Laminating System). Through this project, Cevotec said it will advance its Fiber Patch Placement (FPP) technology and online inspection capabilities to achieve further industrialization.
Emission reduction is the main driving force for new process development and component certification. The continuous efforts of the aerospace industry to reduce emissions have led to the widespread use of composite materials and sandwich structures. The latter uses foam and/or honeycomb core materials to increase stiffness with extremely light weight and provide additional benefits such as heat and sound insulation. However, Cevotec stated that they still rely heavily on manual labor and multiple follow-up inspection steps to ensure compliance with strict quality specifications, which is where the company's FPP process comes in.
"The uniqueness of FPP technology is that it can lay fibers on surfaces with composite material curvature," the relevant person explained. "We want to extend it to the automatic layup of complete sandwich components, including core materials." The main goal of the ACoSaLUS project is to reduce the amount of manual labor required by up to 100% and increase the net layup speed by 7 to 10 times , Reaching 15 square meters per hour.
Achieving these project goals will make the production of composite sandwich components more economical, efficient and controllable. Cevotec's scope of work in the ACoSaLUS project includes software and hardware development, including further advancement of the FPP process. "We will implement the active power feedback function on the robots integrated in our system to meet the best compression strength during the laying process, while also enhancing our proprietary gripper technology," said the relevant person.
In terms of software, Cevotec is working with the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences to optimize FPP ply planning and simulation algorithms to reduce the overall cycle time of each component and further improve the quality of mechanical strength prediction. To ensure that the components produced meet the strict manufacturing specifications required by aerospace customers and Tier 1 suppliers, Cevotec will develop a vision system to inspect the first and second skin laminates during the placement process. This will be done in close cooperation with GKN Aerospace GmbH and VisCheck GmbH (Bayern, Germany). The new prepreg formulations developed by SGL Carbon will also be tested during the project to optimize their use on the Cevotec system. In addition, Vabatec GmbH (Munich, Germany) will further develop its newly developed gripper-based vacuum-assisted application technology.
When the project is completed in 20213, Cevotec`s goal is to increase the net layup speed of related components by 7-10 times, and use FPP technology to develop a fully automatic layup process for sandwich parts, including advanced online inspection procedures and adaptive process control, Advanced placement procedures and automatic core processing are aimed at transforming development results into aerospace series production.