Airborne's automated lay-up systems at Airbus, GKN Aerospace and Teijin Automotive Technology maximise flexibility and intelligent automation.
Automatic layup robot.
Airborne's App-Automated Ply Placement technology represents a advancement in robotics, intelligent software, and process optimization. It is a robotic-operated, automated, and modular preform solution that maximizes design and material freedom for composite parts prior to resin transfer molding (RTM) processing.
The use of composite materials in automotive and aircraft manufacturing is proliferating. This is due to their many advantages, such as light weight, strength, durability, corrosion resistance, and design flexibility. As the demand for composite components continues to grow in these industries, so do the high-speed, high-precision, flexible, intelligent, and modular manufacturing technologies required to produce composite components. Airborne (The Hague, Netherlands), a composites manufacturing systems company, set out to solve this problem by creating a concept called app-automated ply placement.
APP is a robotic-operated, automated, and modular preform technology that maximizes design and material freedom for composite parts prior to resin transfer molding (RTM) processing. It represents a step forward in robotics, intelligent software, and process optimization.
Joe Summers, Managing Director of Airborne, explains: "Thanks to the high precision of the robotics and automation software, the app enables engineers to design the best performance without the constraints of manual layout. Automated lay-up was developed to improve accuracy, reduce waste, and enable any form of composite material to be produced in automated manufacturing. ”
Joe Summers continues, "Many composites come in the form of a roll of material. ”。Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) and Automated Tape Laying (ATL) transform composites into tape-based laminates that are limited to a small fraction of the composites available in the form of slit tapes. Starting with tape form, which is often a unidirectional (UD) material, limits the scope for optimizing the final part. Instead, we can use all material forms – not just dry fibers, prepregs or thermoplastic UD tapes, but also textiles such as crimp-free fabrics, as well as films, metal layered sheets (e.g. cores for sandwich panels), pre-consolidated sublaminates or homogeneous materials in sheets. ”
App-automated ply placement decomposition
In the first stage of the process, the app uses conventional conveyor tools to precisely cut the ply layer into the desired shape. The app robot then picks up the ply layer and evaluates its accuracy using a camera-based vision system. It checks the correct geometry of the ply layers, verifies the precision quality of each cut ply layer, and measures how the ply layers are positioned on the robot end effector.
The automatic layup machine can be used in a variety of material forms.
A standard conveyor cutter precisely cuts the ply layer in the first stage of processing. We can use a variety of material forms, including dry fiber or thermoplastic UD tapes, textiles such as crimp-free fabrics, films, metal layered sheets (e.g., cores used to make sandwich panels), pre-consolidated sublaminates, or SMD homogeneous materials.
The composite layers ready for processing are oriented and placed on the welding table – the software adjusts the robot's dynamic movements to ensure accurate placement. In the correct order required to make a 2D custom billet laminate, the splints are stacked on a soldering table and soldered by ultrasonic or hot pin soldering. Welding activates the binder in the dry fiber material and can also be used in thermoplastic composites. This process is not necessary for the prepreg blank, but an intermediate step to remove the foil or backing paper can be integrated.
Cut layers that are not ready for machining are stored in a buffer system, allowing for "disordered" nesting. This reduces material waste, as the ply layer is pre-prepared for production, increasing operating costs and sustainability. After welding the processed laminate, the robot accurately positions the laminate on the hot pleat former in preparation for the RTM. The robotic trimming station is used to trim the outer edge of the preformed part to ensure a tight fit in the mold.
For RTM part manufacturing, the prepared mesh preform is inserted into the cavity of a rigid mold, similar to the mold used in injection molding. The rigid mold can apply a differential pressure of 1 bar, which improves the impregnation quality and thus the lamination quality.
After sealing the cavity, the preform is compressed to the final fiber volume. The resin is injected into the cavity through one or more injection gates to fully impregnate the part, then cured and demoulded at the desired temperature. The main advantage of RTM in the mass manufacturing of composite parts is the ability to automate the process to increase productivity.
Airborne cto Marcus Kremers emphasizes: "Accurate preforms are especially important for RTM to ensure good penetration of the resin and avoid defects in the part. ”。As part of the RTM composites production line, the APP can control the composite manufacturing process with great accuracy and repeatability, without the need for breaks or training in delicate work, removing the human factor and related variations from the composites manufacturing process. ”
Airborne's Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS) business model enables customers to purchase or lease their automated systems. The customizable nature of the app means that customers can define the functionality of the automated workstation. This provides optimized manufacturing solutions to support the diverse needs of industries such as automotive, aerospace, and renewable energy, as well as technology research centers, manufacturing companies, and more.
Airbus Getafe manufactures A350 components
Airbus A350XWB fuselage 19 segments, using RTM to manufacture the rear fuselage beams and repair door frames.
The 19-segment integrated frame is custom layer-by-layer using one-component RTM6 epoxy resin and medium-modulus (IM) carbon fiber reinforcement and developed in collaboration with Hearst (Hexcel - Stamford, CT, USA). Optimization uses a parallel approach that includes simultaneous development of raw materials, structural design, manufacturing processes, and industrial manufacturing solutions.
The 2D preform is created manually using UD, non-crimped, and woven fabrics, and then thermally draped into a 3D shape, assembled into a beam structure, and infused with RTM6 resin. Airbus has developed a custom-built RTM workstation and describes it as a high-precision RTM, adding that it is an efficient way to manufacture these high-load primary structures.
Airbus's main driver for automating the production of prefabricated parts for this project was to improve quality control by replacing manual operations involving many steps. Airbus and its Tier 1 manufacturers have used this automation in custom RTM workstations for a variety of parts, such as "high-speed, automated RTM next-generation spoilers" (see the supplementary image later in this article, "Airbus A320 Spoiler RTM Automatic Production Line"), not only to improve quality and reduce waste, but also to meet increasing productivity, such as the company's commitment to produce 75 A320 aircraft per month by 2026.
Airborne faced a number of challenges in developing the app system to meet the needs of the project. First of all, the size of the parts is quite large. As a result, Airborne retrofitted Airbus' workstations to handle sizes up to 35 meters of prefabricated parts. The project also involved a variety of ply shapes and a variety of materials. The automated programming software technology that comes with Airborne is used to address these challenges. Finally, the system produces dry fibre preforms by automatic pick and place, a first for Airbus. As a result, Airbus is qualifying the app technology and will support it to ensure that it meets production standards.
Automobile first-class business
Meeting the high productivity and quality demands of the automotive industry is one of the most challenging feats of manufacturing machinery. As composites continue to replace other materials in automotive design and manufacturing, producing ply layers and assembling them into laminates and components is increasingly becoming a critical issue. The app's first automotive application was developed for highly engineered dry fiber RTM parts produced at Teijin Automotive Technologies' plant in Pouancé, France, in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA.
Teijin Automotive Technology is a Tier 1 automotive parts manufacturer that offers parts manufactured using a variety of technologies, including SMC-sheet molding compounds, thermoplastic composites, thermoset prepregs and RTMs. The driver for the integration of the app was Teijin's customer's need for a complete composite door for a high-performance sports car with full road adaptability, including compliance with crash safety regulations.
Teijin Automotive Technology's app system manages an all-composite door produced using dry fibre RTM.
The main challenge was to design and manufacture composite crash structures," says Marc Philippe Toitgans of Teijin Automotive Technologies, Director of R&D at the company's Ponce plant in France. "Traditionally, composite doors have had a metal structure that is crash-resistant, and replacing it with composite materials requires a very accurate ** and repeatability study of the composite structure to ensure the safety and qualification of the structure. ”
Toitgans continues: "In the manufacturing process, the exact placement of each ply layer, especially the fiber angle of the subsurface, is crucial. ”。High-precision repeatability cannot be achieved using the traditional manual layup process, whereas visual inspection of each layer by the app and precise robot placement can be achieved. ”
"Another advantage is that the app can accurately cut and place more than 30 layers of 2 to 300 grams of ply, which eliminates gaps and overlaps that need to be managed if AFP is used," Toitgans adds. ”。AFP has many advantages to placing dry fiber tapes or tows, but the challenge is accuracy, especially since the tow itself also has some tolerances for the width of the tape tow.
For variations in part thickness, as shown above, laminate, add additional layers where needed to provide strength and reduce thickness in areas of lower stress.
Toitgan notes that even if accuracy can be controlled, there will be many gaps or overlaps, which can affect overhangs (where there are gaps that may appear in folds) or infusions (different permeability). "The app removes that challenge," he said. Once the 2D custom blank of the door is made, it is molded into a 3D part through an advanced custom RTM molding process.
For Tekin Automotive Technology, dry fiber RTM is an important strategic technology to improve the speed and accuracy of its composite technology. The company is already working on future APP manufacturing methods and equipment projects.
GKN Aviation UK Global Technical Centre
GKN Airways (Redditch, UK) and the Global Technology Centre (GTC) in Bristol, UK, will complete the first installation of in-flight APP technology in the third quarter of 2023. The 10,000-square-metre centre employs 300 engineers and works with universities, the UK Catapult Network and GKN Aviation UK to support the design and development of aerospace decarbonisation technologies.
It is also the base for GKN Aerospace's technology partnership in Airbus' Wings of Tomorrow technology project. GTC's main outputs will be next-generation additive manufacturing, advanced composites, components and Industry 40 process to achieve high-speed production of aircraft structures. Its automatic preforming workstation, known internally as the Adapt-Advanced Automated Preforming Technology (AP) workstation at GKN Aerospace, uses the APP technology developed by the British company Airborne.
The Airborne App system will be installed at GKN's Global Technology Centre for Aerospace in Bristol, UK.
Kevin Barlow, Chief Technologist at GKN Aerospace Composites, explains: "The ADAPT workstation will be the key to the development of robust, repeatable and flexible automated deposition, forming, preforming, trimming and inspection of dry-fiber composite parts for the manufacture of high-speed and sustainable RTM-machined parts. ”。As reported by CW-Composite World in February 2023, the UK-funded ASCEND project will for the first time leverage the use of the device to develop and demonstrate two key demonstrators, namely integrated wingtip and wing trailing edge test pieces, to reach TRL 6 maturity. ”
Kevin Barlow noted, "It is important that the Adapt workstation will be able to quickly demonstrate other key target products in future technology initiatives or customer interactions, as well as demonstrate the '**** in the Ascend-Advanced Superconducting and Cryogenic Experimental Powertrain Demonstrator deliverables." Chain-driven development' section. ”。
GKN Airlines' ADAPT workstations form part of an automated system with subsystems including Airborne-Supplied App, a ply cutter from Assyst Bullmer (Wakefield, UK), a hot pleat forming machine from PAC Group (Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK) and a preform trimming module from Accudyne Systems (Newark, Delaware, USA). "The ASCEND program has facilitated greater adoption of today's composite technologies, industrialized new technologies, and accelerated aerospace productivity to meet future high-volume market demands," Summers added. ”。This collaboration will help develop the technology across the UK's best chain to develop the advanced materials and automation equipment needed to manufacture the lightweight structures needed for sustainable air mobility and road vehicles in the future. ”
Automated Programming, Composites 40
APP System Critical 40 Technology is Airborne's automation programming software. Traditionally, robots have been programmed by humans using programming languages. This process can be time-consuming and error-prone, requiring expertise that not all manufacturers have.
Automated programming means that human programmers don't need to teach robots how to perform tasks, allowing for a fully automated manufacturing process. The software takes design and operational input and translates it directly into the correct robot** and process settings for each layer. This is done dynamically, and if the operator uploads a new design or provides a new ply shape, the system will make adjustments, which makes it easy to implement on the shop floor.
This software-driven approach to automation makes the system very flexible, as it can be easily adapted to changes in design or materials without the need to teach or reprogram the robot. In addition to eliminating the need for manual programming, automated programming can significantly improve productivity by automating more complex tasks that require greater flexibility and automating more comprehensive manufacturing processes.
The app software is an evolution of the technology created by Airborne for the automation of the supporting process, which integrates nesting, cutting, marking and matching production steps into a single production workstation. Airborne's software integrates these manufacturing steps into a single program.
"Software development is important to enable the industrialization and adoption of pick-and-place in composites," Kremers said. ”。It's one thing to do an R&D setup, but automation is necessary if you want to have thousands of parts with different ply shapes in full production. The automated program is based on advanced algorithms that can read the manufacturing situation and make adjustments on the fly, eliminating the need for over-programming and machine setup. ”
The automatic programming algorithm takes into account the flexibility of the material and determines the best way to pick up the ply layer to minimize sagging.
Adaptive picking, placement accuracy.
While the complexity of software development cannot be underestimated, another challenge is the material handling of robots.
"Getting the fixture to firmly separate the ply layer from the other materials in the nest, especially for adhesive prepregs, is particularly challenging," Kremers notes. ”。There may also be uncut fibers, which will result in the entire bone being pulled out of the cutting table. We integrated sensors that detect uncut fibers and pause the system for operator intervention. ”
Another problem is sagging. Because the composite material is flexible and the layers are picked up by an end-effector with a series of clamps, there may be sagging between and outside the clamps. The automatic programming algorithm takes this into account and determines the best way to pick up the ply layer to minimize sagging. For example, a robot can pick up a rectangular ply layer with a rotating end-effector to position the suction cups in the corners of the ply layer. The magnitude of the gripper force depends on the ply layer shape and is determined for each gripper.
Placement accuracy is also critical when releasing the ply layer onto a soldering table or buffer system. The app uses real-time calibration based on vision or closed-loop control to scan each ply layer when connected to the end effector and compare its position to the intended position. The robot's movement is then adjusted to ensure accurate placement. "Because we scan the ply layer, the system can control the quality, precisely inspect the cut edge, or find defects in the ply layer that might not be visible on the cutter," Kremers says. ”。
Buffering and replay
The automation companion of the app system includes a buffer solution for sorting and sequencing. Once the material has been cut into 2D ply layers, the robot can automatically put it into a buffer zone if needed, sort the ply layers into kits for each part, and arrange the ply layers in the correct order for easy laying later. The buffer zone can also be approached from outside the workstation, so kits or preforms can be easily unloaded manually or by another robot.
If something goes wrong, a digital record of the system operation, part position, time, temperature, speed, etc., can be called a "playback" tool, which is especially important because the ** of these processes is generated in real time. This data is also fed into a virtual replica of the physical asset, providing real-time insights and analytics for future process improvements.
Extra: Increase automation without programming
As previously reported by CW-Composite World, Airborne's automation programming, AI-equipped work stations at the German Aerospace Center (Stuttgart, Germany) at the Light Production Technology Center, and SAM XL's (Delft, Netherlands) "zero-programming" automation software are all examples of software-driven automation solutions designed to eliminate the need for manual programming of robots. However, there are some key differences between the three solutions.
Part design, ply shape, and material data are inputs. Based on these inputs, Airborne's software creates all the required machine** and process settings in real-time to perform the entire material handling process without the need for external programming.
Airborne's automated programming is a dedicated solution focused on the high-performance composites industry's need for high-tolerance, high-rate, and repeatable lamination production prior to manufacturing. It is designed to automate the stacking of composite materials, which is a complex and labor-intensive process. For example, the German Aerospace Center's workstations equipped with artificial intelligence are more versatile. It automates the manufacturing process, including welding, cutting, and painting. The workstation uses artificial intelligence to plan and execute robotic tasks, which allows it to flexibly adapt to changes in the production environment.
Future app development and application
Regarding the future potential of the app, Kremers said, "Software development is something we have been doing to improve the speed and robustness of the system, especially since the data we collect has a lot of potential to provide more power and performance to our customers." For example, the system now checks each layer before placing it. As you can expect, the accuracy of the layers picked directly from the cutter is quite good, with minimal or no corrections at all. If the system recognizes this trend, you can skip the check or reduce the frequency and check, for example, only one out of every ten layers, increasing yield. ”
Another example could be having a special dependence on materials," he continued. "Some materials are more difficult to cut and get a clean edge than others, and the system can see this and provide insight on how to set the knives correctly, change knives more often, or use different cutting methods for other materials. In addition, material welding has been developed in the software: if there is a change in the quality or quantity of the adhesive, the system can potentially identify this from the welding data.
The layup is automatically placed on the laminating table in preparation for welding.
Optimize to reduce waste, yield, or CO2 emissions
Although the app system is automated, there is a trade-off between maximum output and minimal waste. In a typical plant, this changes from day to day. Airborne is developing the "Optimize X" software so that operators or digital plant management systems can choose the desired optimization options, for example, if they wish, with minimal waste, maximum yield or minimal CO2 footprint. This is flexible automated manufacturing or composites 40 basis.
When a mode is selected, such as minimum CO2, the automation software takes into account potential productivity impacts and end-effector compatibility factors. It evaluates the overall impact on the manufacturing process in order to adapt the machine instructions to the desired results in operation.
Airborne plans to use this technology to optimize its automated workstations for a variety of customers, enabling operators to prescribe different scenarios and make informed decisions. Airborne also uses a combination of fibers and resins, biomaterials, and a mix of thermosets, thermoplastics, and metals to test apps and their automation programming to validate the ability of automated software to identify and compensate for defects.
"If developed successfully, it could open the door to ** and low-CO2 applications in a variety of industries," Kremers explains. ”。To make composites more sustainable, it is important to reduce energy use, reduce steps, and reduce waste. ”
The energy embedded in carbon fiber is relatively high, so reducing waste and using alternative fibers with a lower CO2 footprint is critical to sustainability. In addition, integrated technologies such as 3D printing or robotic injection overmolding can be tailored to the unique needs of any application.
-END --Supplementary image. Note: For the original text, see "Modular, Robotic Cells Enable High-Rate RTM Using Any Material Format" 2023 8 23
Chaofan Yang 20238.24