Automated Removal of Prepreg Backing Paper - A Sticky Problem

Automated solutions for manufacturing composite products based on prepreg often imply Automatic Fiber Placement or Automatic Tape Laying. These systems are generally associated with huge investments. For certain manufacturing applications it is interesting to investigate alternatives to find simpler and less costly automation. One example of an automated system could be the use of a standard industrial robot to pick single prepreg plies from an automated cutting machine and stack them to form a plane laminate. This paper is based on a case illustrating a product from the aircraft manufacturing industry. The case will demonstrate a pick and place concept on a general level and illustrate challenges that must be solved. The challenge selected to be the main focus for this paper is an automated process for backing paper removal. A literature review of different gripping technologies reveals several interesting technologies, and the most promising are tested for backing paper removal. The tests show that an automated removal process can be designed by using standard vacuum grippers in combination with mechanical clamping grippers. In order to lift the backing paper with a vacuum gripper an initial separation between the backing paper and prepreg is needed. This separation is most easily mechanically induced by bending the material. The proposed solution for automatic backing paper removal can be integrated in a manufacturing cell for manufacturing of the studied product.SAE Technical Paper 2013-01-2289</p

New Automated Composite Manufacturing Process: : Is it possible to find a cost effective manufacturing method with the use of robotic equipment?

The use of carbon composites has continuously increased in the commercial aircraft industry due to more challenging weight targets which is one way to handle the environmental requirements to lower the CO2 emissions. One aircraft structure component made at Saab Aerostructures is long and slender U-sections manufactured in carbon composites. The manufacturing is performed by manual layup of composite material. These U-sections are selected as an illustrative case in order to discuss possibilities for an automated manufacturing process with the aim to reduce cost. A literature review of different existing technologies have been performed and compared with the industrial front at Saab Aerostructures. Automated Tape Laying (ATL) and Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) are the two dominating automation methods, of today, for aircraft prepreg manufacturing. Both methods are heavy investments for small to medium size composite manufacturers. Analysis in the case has shown that the selected component cannot be automated with these two methods due to design constrains. The paper suggests that another automated method with a cutting machine in combination with an industrial robot with a vacuum gripper, is selected for further work. The proposed pick and place process is also assumed to reduce the material waste

The Jules Horowitz Reactor, a New High Performance European Material Testing Reactor Open to International Users: Present Status and Objectives

The development of nuclear power as a sustainable and competitive energy source will continue to require R&D on fuel and material behaviour under irradiation. This necessitates a high performance Research Reactor called Material Testing Reactor (MTR) in order to meet future needs and challenges for the benefit of industry, research institutes and public bodies. As an example we can quote the fuel and material technologies in present and future nuclear power plants that are continuously upgraded to achieve better performances both for competitiveness and for lifetime extension as well as maintaining highest attainable level of safety. Facing the obsolescence of most of the existing MTR used by industry – and particularly in Europe - these challenges require secured access to a modern and up-to-date high performance MTR such as the Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR) under construction in the CEA Cadarache Research Centre (start-up scheduled for 2014). JHR is designed, built and will be operated as an International User Facility. This MTR is funded and steered by a consortium with Members contributing to the financing of the JHR construction. At the present time, 3 industrial companies and 6 research institutes are members of the consortium. JHR is selected in the ESFRI roadmap and the European Commission is supporting this initiative. Members will have guaranteed access rights to JRH experimental capacities. In parallel and in order to gather a larger international scientist community around this User Facility, CEA, with the support of OECD/NEA, is launching an International Program as of 2012 (beginning with potential experiments in existing facilities). CEA is developing a first set of experimental hosting devices in order to make JHR experimental capacity available for the start of operation. Launching a new set of experimental devices offers the opportunity to upgrade the devices to better match present safety requirements and to implement innovative solutions. The paper will present the construction status, the developments of experimental hosting devices, the potential topics of the future International Program, and the point of view of VATTENFALL, as a major European utility member of the Consortium, for JHR perspective uses

Low-cost Automation for Prepreg Handling - Two Cases from the Aerospace Industry

With an increased use of composite materials within the aerospace industry follows a need for rational and cost-effective methods forcomposite manufacturing. Manual operations are still common for low to medium manufacturing volumes and complex products.Manual operations can for example be found in material handling, when picking prepreg plies from a cutter table and stacking them toform a plane laminate in preparation for a subsequent forming operation. Stacking operations of this kind often involves a greatnumber of different ply geometries and removal of backing paper and other protecting materials like plastic. In this paper two differentdemonstrator cells for automated picking of prepreg plies and stacking of plane laminates are presented. One demonstrator is utilizinga standard industrial robot and an advanced end-effector to handle the ply variants. The other demonstrator is using a dual arm robotwhich allow for simpler end-effector design. In combination with a previously developed system for automated removal of backingpapers both systems have shown to be capable of automatically picking prepreg plies from a plane surface and stack them to generate aflat multistack laminate. The dual arm approach has shown advantageous since it result in simpler end-effector design and a successivelay down sequence that result in good adhesion between the plies in the laminate