A Modelling Approach for the Manufacturing Process Chain of Composite Lightweight Structures

Abstract

In order to support production tasks in the automotive industry, to reduce costs due to a trial and error procedure during process design and plant construction and to secure the accuracy of frame component assemblies, modern simulation methods are applied. In production chains a row of different manufacturing techniques are established. To accompany the number of manufacturing steps with the aid of calculation methods, an interacting of each simulation with the preliminary one is necessary. Such process chains help to determine the structural properties and geometrical accuracy of components and assemblies during manufacturing of composite lightweight structures and ensure their final quality. The basic difficulty of handling aluminium composites with steel reinforcements is the high residual stress level in the reinforcing elements and the adjoining matrix. This stress state can have a significant effect on the desired machining results and the related process itself. Contemplating this reveals the importance of defining a process chain by simulation.