Thermoplastic and stabilized dry fiber with automated fiber placement Davy Leboucher, Ing. Dipl 1/28
I. Company Profile SUMMARY II. Current robotic fiber placement III. Thermosets and Aerospace Applications IV. Thermoplastics and Dry Fibers V. Conclusion 2/28
SUMMARY CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU I. Company Profile 3/28
I - COMPANY PROFILE Founded in 2001, French independent company, worldwide presence: - Headquarter in Lorient with production, engineering, customer support, software development (3500m² facility) - approx. 100 staff and 4 subsidiaries (local presence) Skilled in composites, robotics and software development CANADA UK GERMANY FRANCE ISO 9001 certification since October 2010 20 worldwide patents (130 applications) on AFP systems, appli. & algorithms Few of our references (35 Machines sold since 2006): 4/28
SUMMARY CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU II. Current robotic fiber placement 5/28
Fuselage Panel 25KG/H CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU II Current robotic fiber placement VideoPanel wave2 6/28
Fiber placement machine based on machine tool II Current robotic fiber placement Special machine-tool based systems High investment and running costs Not adapted to complex parts 7/28
Robotic Automated Fiber Placement II Current robotic fiber placement Flexible feeding tubes Compact Head Creel Mould loading device Single tensioning device Multiwinch Head for 8/16/32 x ¼ or 8 x 1/8 Thermoset, thermoplastic, dry fiber Heating: IR & Laser Independent Cut & Feed on the fly v max = 1 m/s 8/28
Software: Design simulation II Current robotic fiber placement Manual and automatic sectorization of plies Tapes and fibers generation: short fibers management(chamfer, bat ear, bird beak). Tape split and slit. Manual and automatic extension or reduction of fiber length. Gap-overlap definition Geometry analysis (fibre angular deviation, roller compaction ) FEA export of fiber simulation to FEA software (Nastran, Abaqus, Samcef) Mesh mapping between AFP surface and structural FEA mesh Software: Manufacturing simulation and program Machine set-up Strategies definition 9/28
Material able to be processed in robot AFP II Current robotic fiber placement FIBER STORAGE FIBER FEEDING FIBER DELIVERY 1 2 3 Packaging Stiffness Forming T Source : Toho Tenax Thermoset Large spools Medium Dry fiber 0% to 5% resin Spools Very low Thermoplastics Casset Very high Required tackiness 50 C/120 F Binder activation 80 to 180 C (176 F to 350 F) 180 C to 340 C (350 F to 650 F) 10/28
Mains benefits II Current robotic fiber placement CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU No scrap thanks to independent cutting and feeding of each fiber Repeatability Traceability Productivity 1m/s (fuselage panels) Improved H&S for operators VS hand layup, No foreign object Full simulation and off-line programming 11/28
Mains benefits II Current robotic fiber placement CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU High mechanical properties due to continuous fiber and curved path following main stress Inserts and variable thickness Steering No scrap when cut-outs 12/28
SUMMARY CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU III. Thermosets and aerospace Applications 13/28
OML LAYUP III Thermosets and Aerospace Applications CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU BOMBARDIER C-Series AFT Fuselage SAFRAN AIRCELLE Production of Inner Fixed Structure for a jet engine thrust reverser AIRBUS A350 Main Landing Gear Doors 14/28
Sandwich-structured composite III Thermosets and Aerospace Applications Vidéo nacelle 15/28
IML LAYUP III Thermosets and Aerospace Applications CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU Layup of complex IML parts and transfer on OML tool for curing Spar layup capability with Coriolis patented corner path technology allowing accurate deposition and compaction around corners SABCA flap track fairing Sharp edges Ply drop-off Ramps CORIOLIS Spar layup CORIOLIS corner path device 16/28
SUMMARY CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU IV. Thermoplastics and Dry Fibers 17/28
IV Thermoplastics and Dry Fibers CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU What need to be changed to process other materials? Laser optic Optic Fiber Standard Coriolis machine is used Dedicated roller (laser) Coriolis machine well designed to guide stiff tows (thermoplastic cannot be steered over small radius) Challenge is the management of the key processing parameters 18/28
IV Thermoplastics and Dry Fibers CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU Stabilized dry fiber and thermoplastic key parameters Process parameters: ACTIVATION QUALITY CONTROL Laser (80 < T C < 360 C) at speed>= 1 m/s IR imaging Activation: Tension P v Heat Video Peel stabilised binder activated binder Substrate and fiber are heated with the laser 19/28
Future of Thermoplastic with AFP Influencing factors for the future of thermoplastic: IV Thermoplastics and Dry Fibers - Recycling Pros Cons - Heat source (Laser) - No curing cycle - No shelf life - Cost of row materials - First ply adherence - No cooling system for the fiber Future : - Combination with other process - In situ consolidation? 20/28
CHALLENGE: MATERIAL IV Thermoplastics and Dry Fibers Direct roving preferred to slit tape to reduce costs, reduce fiber fuzz and improve mechanical properties Consolidation between plies: matrix or binder formulation adapted to improve activation at low temperature First ply adherence should not reduce layup speed but allow easy part release Fiber stiffness and cohesion to prevent bulking & shearing of the preform during fast layup, even for thick laminates or curved paths Material architecture optimized for forming and resin transfer 21/28
CHALLENGE: MATERIAL IV Thermoplastics and Dry Fibers Tension P v Heat Peel stabilised binder activated binder 22/28
Research programs dedicated to TP and dry fiber IV Thermoplastics and Dry Fibers Aeronautics Defi Composites (nacels, dry fiber placement) with Safran and Airbus Flash_TP / TAPAS (Thermoplastic) with EADS, Airbus and Astrium 12 ADVITAC and Ecowingbox (regional jet) with Daher, Embraer IMPALA (France) with Dassault Aviation, Daher, EADS, Automotive PRESCHE (Germany) with AUDI DEMOS (France) with Faurecia, automotive parts Wind energy WALID (EU), new process for wind blade manufacturing in thermoplastics 23/28
Research program ADVITAC ADVITAC Advanced Integrated Composite Tailcone IV Thermoplastics and Dry Fibers Design a lightweight multi-layer/multifunction and smart composite tailcone in a fasteners-less fully integrated structure. Coriolis Composites central focus was to manufacture the skin of the tailcone using an innovative fibre placement technology using carbon dry fiber. 24/28
Research program ADVITAC IV Thermoplastics and Dry Fibers Video advitac 25/28
SUMMARY CLIQUEZ POUR MODIFIER LE STYLE DU IV. Conclusion 26/28
Robotic AFP system provides: Simple robotic system Efficient layup with compact head design + fiber feeding mechanism Accuracy & repeatability Minimal scrap (<5%) V Conclusion New materials processing: Almost all parts done with thermosets materials could be done with thermoplastic with Coriolis AFP robot In-depth material understanding required Machine performance and material development have to progress in parallel 27/28
Thank you for your attention Questions? Contact: Sales director: Davy LEBOUCHER (davy.leboucher@coriolis-composites.com) Chinese agent: James PENG (james.peng@ateq.com.cn) 28/28