Automation for Aerospace Parts

Automation for next-generation aerostructures.

Cevotec Aerospace

Aerospace applications

Accelerating next-gen aerostructures

All major aerospace suppliers and OEMs expect that “green aerospace” initiatives will gain in importance and need to accelerate in the years to come. In addition to new propulsion technologies, it’s in particular lightweight construction that will play a major role as new aerospace programs are defined in the decade to come.

Automation is key to a widespread use of high-performance composites in next generation aerostructures, in particular when higher volumes are needed for e.g. single-aisle medium-range aircrafts. As of today, multi-material composite structures like fairings, radomes, nacelles, control surfaces still require a lot of manual worksteps in fabrication. Fiber Patch Placement (FPP) technology has the potential to change this. It offers a new combination of productivity, flexibility and costs and enables automation for complex 3D shapes, multi-material composites and locally load-adjusted fiber designs. This results in a remarkably improved buy-to-fly ratio. It’s the technology for the next generation of composites aerostructures.

Automated lay-up with FPP

Fiber Patch Placement can be used to produce multi-material aerostructures and other high-performance components in a quality-controlled, fully automated process.

  • Sandwich parts (carbon fibers, glass fibers, adhesive films etc.)

  • Structural / local reinforcements

  • Complex geometry lay-ups

cevoGripper patching composite sandwich panel
cevoGripper patching composite sandwich panel

Advantages

Your benefits with FPP

100% In-process raw material inspection & control

Multi-material Lay-up capabilities (carbon, glass, adhesives, etc.)

20% – 60% Time and cost savings

Reduction / elimination Of intermediate debulking steps

SAMBA Production System

Rolling Motion

For the precise placement of larger patches on strongly curved surfaces, we have equipped our SAMBA systems with the Rolling Motion feature. The 6-axis placement robot applies the patch onto the tool in a rolling movement, so that the gripper exercises a similar pressure across the entire patch surface during placement. The gripper size can be varied to maximize the throughput of the system; it features an automated gripper exchange station. The calculation of best contact curve can be performed by our dedicated ARTIST STUDIO software, which then also performs the offline programming of the robot via a digital twin.

Fully automated composite sandwich lay-up system

Together with industry and R&D partners we started the pioneering project “ACoSaLUS” to fully automate the production of sandwich structures.

As of today, sandwich structures, known as an excellent means in building lighter and greener aircrafts, still depend on manual material lay-up and subsequent inspection steps. We plan to further enhance the Fiber Patch Placement process by e.g. enhanced on-line inspection steps and self-adaptive process control, advanced placement routines, and automated core handling. The project team aims to improve net lay-up speed of relevant components by factor 7-10x.

Our Hardware & Software

Fiber Patch Placement enables the fully automated lay-up of all fiber materials in multi-material composite aerostructures such as sandwich structures. The ability to place fibers with controlled high pressure on concave and convex geometries reduces or eliminates time-consuming intermediate debulking steps.

System

SAMBA Pro Multi

Software

ARTIST STUDIO

SAMBA Pro Multi

Our SAMBA Pro Multi is designed to meet the special requirements of the aerospace industry. With this production system, manufacturers have the possibility to automate the placement of all necessary materials – in one integrated production program. Based on Fiber Patch Placement (FPP) technology, the SAMBA lay-up system SAMBA Pro Multi works with a broad range of material systems, both prepreg and dry-fiber, enabling manufacturers to automate the lay-up of multi-material aerostructures.

  • 6-axis placement robot with long reach for component sizes of 3m x 2m or more
  • Additional linear rail for extended reach
  • Double feeding unit for processing various fiber material simultaneously
  • Force-torque sensor for controlled fiber placement (e.g. on honeycomb cores)
  • Active, in-inline quality control of material quality, patch size and positioning accuracy
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ARTIST STUDIO

ARTIST STUDIO is the dedicated software suite for Fiber Patch Placement technology. It enables a full digital thread and supports engineers in the creation of patch laminates through technology-specific lay-up features. The integrated CAM module programs the SAMBA system robots fully automated.

Request a demo
Cevotec career

Test your ideas & realize your vision!

Cevotec operates an FPP Competence Center near Munich for developing automated lay-up processes for composite structures with sizes of up to 2 m x 3 m. Composite part producers are invited to get in touch and learn how FPP can save 20% – 60% in production cost & time when switching from conventional production processes. Schedule your personal consultation to discuss those applications that are relevant to you. Learn about available project set-ups to develop demonstrator parts.

Furthermore, we offer business case calculations for your application and support you in the configuration of production systems customized to your special requirements.

Get in touch

“Cevotec’s Fiber Patch Placement system expands our existing portfolio of automated production technologies for composite aerospace parts. With the addition of the SAMBA Pro system, we can now automate manufacturing of composite parts that were geometrically too complex for automation while precisely controlling fiber orientations for optimizing part design. It is the perfect enhancement to our robotic production equipment such as AFP and ATL and it allows us to compare technologies and advise our industrial partners on the optimal lay-up strategy.”

Dr. Waruna Seneviratne

Director, Advanced Tech. Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS)

Downloads and more information

Cevotec intro presentation

cevoplane

Fiber Patch Placement in aerostructures: Investigation on material equivalency

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More information?

Contact us to explore the benefits of Fiber Patch Placement for your specific component and production process. We offer a cost-free evaluation and economic analysis for your application with FPP. Looking forward to hearing from you!

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