Within this paper the difficulties in automating the manufacture of conventional sandwich panels used as secondary structures on an aircraft wing-box have been identified. It has been demonstrated that the key to the production of defect free, low cost honeycomb core sandwich panels lies in the understanding of the deformation processes available in the reinforcements. It is also important to find ways to ensure that simple low cost processes can manipulate the reinforcement the correct way, which is vital in developing suitable automation routes. Several approaches towards automation have been considered and shown to have potential, but most require significant development of new or modified material forms, and so are not suited to legacy products. This was perhaps most evident in the use of tow steering to develop novel preforms for low cost forming operations. Conversely, the pin-bed preforming technique has been shown to potentially be applicable to legacy products as no materials changes are required. This is highly important when considering the lifetime of operating aircraft. Despite both processes being limited to a proof of concept, they have shown that an automated preforming process can be successfully developed. These preforms can then be reformed into complex geometries without major manual intervention. The approaches to automation in this work are not definitive and alternative methodologies are possible, including concepts such as the use of robotics for direct material placement and flexible pick and place end effectors.
Development of the manufacture of complex composite panels
Entwicklung der Fertigung komplexer Verbundstoffplatten
International Journal of Materials and Product Technology ; 42 , 3/4 ; 131-155
2011
25 Seiten, 18 Bilder, 41 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
Composite material layer and manufacture of sandwich panels
European Patent Office | 2023
|Ultrasonic Inspection of Complex Composite Panels
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1995
|Flexible Manufacture of car body panels
Automotive engineering | 1989
|