Our institute at Stuttgart features a state-of-the-art Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) facility for manufacturing fibre-reinforced thermoplastic components. The institute works closely with fibre and thermoplastic tape suppliers, as well as other industry and academic research institutes, to develop innovative new parts for aeronautical, aerospace and automotive applications.
The ATP facility is comprised of:
a six degree-of-freedom rob
a rotating/winding axis
a two degree-of-freedom (rotation and inclination) tool surface
a single tape deposition head (tape width 6 - 25 mm)
a multi-tape deposition head (3 x 13 mm tapes simultaneously)
This facility is able to produce components up to a maximum length of 3.6 m and width of 2.0 m. These parts range from flat and double-curved surfaces to cylinders and other axisymmetric shapes. The facility is also used to produce bespoke geometries for standard and novel material characterisation tests.
The facility uses a 6 kW laser to heat deposited material to temperatures in excess of 420°C, allowing PEEK and other high-performance thermoplastics to be processed.
The Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) facility for manufacturing fibre-reinforced thermoplastic components at our institute was supported by the Ministry of FInance and Economics of Baden-Württemberg via RWB-EFRE "Regional Competitiveness and Employment" - part EFRE, structural support in Baden-Württemberg 2007 - 2013.
