Airborne, a leader in automation and digitalization of composite manufacturing processes, and FIDAMC (Foundation for Research, Development, and Application of Composite Materials), a prominent research institution in composite materials, announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a partnership for joint research and development (R&D) activities.
This partnership aims to innovate and enhance manufacturing processes for composite materials, particularly for future aircraft programs in both commercial and defense sectors.
The collaboration will address the industry challenge of automating the production of small to medium-sized composite parts, an area currently lacking suitable automation technologies for high-rate production. The joint efforts will focus on developing and implementing scalable, efficient, and cost-effective automation solutions to increase productivity and reduce material waste in composite manufacturing.
Automated Ply Placement (APP) is a novel manufacturing method for high-rate production of composite parts, either in prepreg, thermoplastic or dry fibre. It creates tailored blanks or parts by efficiently cutting the material into the required ply shapes, picking and placing them into the laminate at high accuracy. Collaboration topics involve testing and modelling material properties, developing strategies for managing tackiness, forming laminates into 3D structures, assessing debulking and consolidation needs, and developing demonstrators showcasing APP capabilities. The partnership will also explore optimised cutting strategies, new gripper technologies, sensor integration, multi-material laminate concepts, and innovative materials such as multi-layer NCF, recycled fibers, non-woven materials, and metallic laminates.
Kit by Light (KBL) is an augmented reality solution for improving the productivity of the ply cutting and kitting process while reducing material waste. It supports the operator during ply offloading and kitting operations using patented software to create sequenced kits in one step, with capability for automated nesting on the shopfloor. Efforts will focus on demonstrating system functionality, gathering feedback for algorithm refinement, improving ergonomics, and integrating KBL into digital factory ecosystems.
A joint development roadmap will be established and regularly updated in coordination with aircraft manufacturers and composite production companies. FIDAMC will have the ability to use the equipment and technologies with other partners for further testing and development.
Under the terms of the MOU, Airborne will provide expertise in automation and digitalization of composite manufacturing processes and share relevant technologies, including APP and KBL. FIDAMC will contribute research capabilities and facilities for material and technology development and testing, facilitate collaboration with universities and research centers, and lead training, material and process research, and pre-qualification of materials and manufacturing techniques.
Source: www.airborne.com
