INDUSTRIALIZED MANUFACTURING OF CFRP REINFORCEMENT PROFILES

The current method of manufacturing composite structures, especially in aviation, is characterized by a variety of manual and semi-automated production processes. In order to satisfy the demand for an increased production rate in a manner that conserves resources and is cost-effective, while also taking into account a wide range of variants, novel automated technologies for the production of frames have been developed during the KOLIPRI project.

The objective of the KOLIPRI collaborative project (“Kosteneffiziente Lösungen für eine industrialisierte Fertigung von CFK-Versteifungsprofilen”) was the development of cost-effective solutions for the industrialized production of reinforcing profiles made of CFRP. A reduction of the production costs currently incurred for CFRP frames was achieved compared with current standards, with a simultaneous reduction in processing times. The process chain that was developed enables the automated production of CFRP frames with a large number of variants that can be used in modern passenger aircraft. Furthermore, these can also be used in vehicle manufacture as reinforcement elements in the passenger compartment, while simultaneously offering excellent cost efficiency. Using environmentally friendly and energy-efficient methods, innovative components can thus contribute to achieving future energy savings throughout the product life cycle, and thus also to reducing CO2 emissions.