Influence of AFP Process Parameters on the Temperature Distribution Used for Thermal in-process Monitoring

Automated Fiber Placement is an important manufacturing process when it comes to aerospace part generation. To minimize the machine downtime, an online monitoring system is necessary to prevent time consuming visual inspection. Therefore, a new thermal in-process monitoring system is integrated. Herewith spotted temperature difference enable the localization of placed tows and detection of defects. The thermal contrast between subsurface and tows depends on different process parameters such as lay-up speed, tooling temperature and compaction pressure. This influence is analyzed and discussed within lay-up studies to gain further knowledge about the different effects to increase the reliability of in-process monitoring as well as AFP processes.Therm-O-PlanNiedersächsisches Vorab, Volkswagen Foundatio

Concept for Automated Production of CFRP-metal Hybrid Compounds Integrated in an Automated Fiber Placement Process

To solve the problem of load transmission into thin walled CFRP Structures, a new joining technology is being developed (Multi Layer Insert – MLI). It consists of multiple thin metal foils to distribute load optimally into every single CFRP layer. The placement process for the metal layers is integrated into an Automated Fiber Placement system. In this paper, a process sequence of MLI placement is presented containing the following steps: stockpiling of metal layers, separation, handling, positioning, lay up and fixation of metal layers during fiber placement. Moreover, the monitoring and control concept is discussed