Automation

Winner: Brötje-Automation GmbH (Germany)
Partners: Faserinstitut Bremen e.V.(Germany), Composite Technology Center Stade GmbH (Germany) and Airbus Operations GmbH (Germany)

CFRP profiles for aircrafts are currently produced manually, resulting in high costs and time consumption. This new process is the first real continuous process for curved profiles used in aircraft applications; curvatures of radii range from 1,500 mm to endless (i.e. straight profiles). It is possible to produce changing curvatures, as well as complex lay-ups with different fibre orientations in 45°, 0° and 90° layers in one profile (in profile web and flanges).

The process has been validated under mass production conditions for complex cross sections like the LCF integral frame witch are 40% lighter and 50% cheaper than differential frame-clip-skin connections.This frame requires 80% fewer rivets than a
traditional construction.

The innovation was developed under the Lokost R&D project, partially funded by the German aeronautics programme (LuFo). Aibus and their partners are currently working to apply this technology to the CFRP fuselage of future aircraft like the A350-1000 or A30X.

Other possible applications can be found inte automative sector. Initial discussions with OEM car manufacturers have started.

Other finalists in the Process category:
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•  Innovative, braiding-based RTM process for the automated, fully-controlled production of high-end racing bike frames, by BMC Traiding AG (Switzerland) with its partners Formtec AG (Switzerland), ASIC AG Switzerland), Huntsman Advanced Materials GmbH (Switzerland), RWTH Aachen University (Germany), Ausgust Herzog Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co.KG (Germany), Nose Design Intelligence AG (Switzerland), Dycon AG; ZEC AG (Switzerland) and ZEC AG (Switzerland)

•  A new fibre-patch preforming (FPP) technology presented by EADS Innovation Works (Germany) with its partners Manz Automation Tübingen GmbH (Germany) and Oxeon AB (Sweden).