Adaptive, connected production of hybrid thermoplastic prototypes

Abstract

From a production engineering perspective, the freedom of design with composite materials offers an interesting possibility of product customization. The material varieties of each constituent, matrix and fiber, as well as the different fiber orientations and layups are some parameters which can be applied to the individual needs of the application. However, this high degree of freedom in design results in the need for more complex and novel production technologies. During the last decades, more and more machines were developed which enable cost efficient production of composites in shorter production times. These technologies mainly focus on mass production of a single optimized composite part in order to fulfill the high demands of industry. Thus, production machines do not utilize the full diversity of composite materials. In order to exploit this diversity, the production machines have to be flexible as well.