From prototype to serial production: 3 megatrends for composite production in aviation
The composites industry has long since evolved from a newcomer to an established industry and is now an innovation driver for many sectors. However, manual processes still dominate the production of composite parts. Although automated systems have been around for many years, e.g. for automated fibre placement, they are constantly facing new challenges due to the high pressure to innovate new materials and design methods. This article has been published in JEC Composites Magazine n°159.
The aircraft industry, which has always been a driver of this development, remains one of the largest market segments for the industrial production of carbon components, along with the sports and leisure industry and the automotive sector. However, the industry is in a state of upheaval after a severe crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several parallel trends are currently developing in the field of automated production of composite components for the aerospace industry, requiring new solutions for automated and industrialised component production at various points.
Unmanned vehicles and air taxis
The proportion of relatively small components with a high degree of shape and surface complexity, such as those needed for drones (UAVs) or air taxis (EVTOLs), is increasing. In recent years, it went from a start-up niche market to a true industrial one. Within this field, many of the newcomers are currently in the prototype phase, preparing for approval for commercial operations. Once achieved, they will have to enter the industrial production phase with significant quantities. In particular, the rapidly growing demand for medium and large UAVs is a key driver. The market will need to move quickly from one-off production of demonstrators to serial production. Most of the components are still manufactured by hand, but the economic success of these aircraft relies on competitive production costs.
Design for manufacturability
Automation plays a key role in the production of the main components, and most of them are made of fibre-reinforced composites. In addition to high production rates, quality requirements are also crucial. To meet these requirements, manufacturing cannot simply rely on manual operations: combined and more industrialised production systems that include manual and automated processes need to be introduced. In the future, it will be crucial to prioritise “design for manufacturability” from as early as the concept phase. This means taking into consideration the subsequent production and manufacturing strategies in relation to existing technologies during the engineering and design stages of a new aircraft.
Modern production facilities are already considering these requirements. With the STAXX family, Broetje-Automation has developed a modularised approach for Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) systems that grows with production. Due to its flexibility, it can be expanded and scaled step by step.
When necessary, the company supports the development phases from the outset, particularly in the area of component production, starting with the initial material qualification tests and the production of full-scale demonstrators, right through series production and scaling up of production. The flexibility of the layup heads and positioning systems has significantly increased the range of possible component designs, allowing the machine to evolve with the requirements of the component design. In the end, close integration between engineering and manufacturing is essential for successfully entering the market.
Flexibility as a key asset
For complex components, a variable and, if necessary, quickly reconfigurable manufacturing system is a great advantage. The STAXX One end effector offers these features, in terms of adaptability to different materials and material widths. Through the targeted use of customised heat sources and pressure rollers, numerous design variants can be produced automatically at high speed and with reproducible quality at an aerospace level. Their modular basic concept allows the user to quickly change the configuration, e.g., from an AFP end effector for 16 material coils to a configuration with 8 coils. This results in a much wider range of applications for the use of a purchased production system in manufacturing, where, for example, accessibility and access to more complex components can be realised without having to compromise on automation and industrialisation.
Commercial aviation
Alongside the new UAV and EVTOL markets, the conventional commercial aviation industry (large transport aircraft) continues to dominate the market of composite components in aircraft manufacturing. Following the COVID crisis, this market is currently characterised by bottlenecks in the supply chain. As a result, the industry is focusing on increasing production rates.
An emerging trend in the AFP process is to move towards 2” (5.08 cm) material widths for the production of large composite aircraft components. Therefore, the conventional AFP systems for 1/4” (0.64 cm) and 1/2” (1.27 cm) materials will be less and less utilised for large components, meaning that multi-track AFP systems will have to be developed for the new material widths.
Sustainable aviation
The trend towards carbon-neutral flights will impact the next generation of aircraft, as new propulsion technologies will require significant changes to the aircraft’s structural design. A new patent-pending hybrid process combines AFP and traditional winding of carbon composites. This promising technology uses a much more precise AFP principle to manufacture tank structures that previously could only be produced by winding.
With this technology, it is, for example, possible to produce a fully-enclosed dome of a classic tank structure with a highly-prestressed cylindrical rotational geometry, using only a single end effector in an integrated system. With the ability to pre-stress the material during the layup process using innovative end effectors, it is now possible to switch between wrapping and AFP layup without stopping the process or even changing machines.
The demand for such systems is growing. The first systems currently in production combine a classic AFP robot with an existing winding line. Both systems have been fully integrated to produce higher-quality tank structures. This innovative system, which has been in production for some time, has now been successively further developed so that it is now possible to carry out the entire filing with the innovative AFP/winding end effector from Broetje-Automation.
Conclusion
It is already foreseeable that the development of these machines will continue. In addition to significantly increased flexibility, a combination of several of these new systems will be able to meet the demands of future production rates in an unsurpassed way.
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Cover photo: Norbert Steinkemper, VP Communication and Marketing, Broetje-Automation GmbH
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