JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - EXPERT’S DIGEST - ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING - 2020 - 89

EXPERT'S DIGEST
ATL/AFP
tages of additive manufacturing. Placing
fibre patches one by one on a 3D preforming
tool, both the wall thickness and the fibre
orientation can be locally adapted to the
loads, which results in excellent mechanical
properties. Similar to 3D printing, the fibre
orientation can follow curved load paths
and thus offers more flexibly than AFP
processes. A forming step is not necessary
as the patches are deposited directly on the
final 3D contour. This means no additional
investment in a forming station and moulds.
Focusing on product performance aspects,
however, Fibre Patch Placement components offer all the advantages of classical
CFRP components.
A key element in the automated processing
of fibre patches is the form-adaptive patch
gripper. After a two-step visual inspection,
the patches are precisely positioned on the
mould. Fibre-throughput rates suitable for
industry applications are achieved by a high
deposition frequency of 1 Hz and geometry-adjusted patch sizes. Another important
aspect is the product development process

from CAD design to machine data. Standard
software for AFP processes usually offers the
user the possibility to cover surfaces with
parallel, straight tape lines. In contrast, the
Artist Studio patch placement software,
similar to modern 3D printing software,
supports the engineer with intelligent
algorithms to produce a high-performance
laminate along curved load paths in simple
steps, with no expert knowledge of fibre
layups necessary. The algorithms move and
optimize the position of the patches to
obtain the maximum laminate strength.
No draping simulation is necessary as the
fibres are directly placed 3-dimensionally.
And similar to the " print " button, the patch
laminate is automatically transferred to machine data within the same software suite.
This simplifies the product development
process and ensures 100% compatibility of
the design with the production process. The
engineer is ideally supported in his development work.

Light version
The patch technology, in contrast to other

technologies, can also be scaled in several
dimensions: size, material, throughput.
Production cells for high-volume production can process 15 kg/h of fibre material
and can be combined with production lines
capable of more than 100 kg/h, processing
both glass and carbon fibres as a single component. Cevotec, the Fibre Patch Placement
specialist from Munich, Germany, also
announced a Light version of the production
system for R&D labs, development departments and low-volume batch production.
With this step, the company encourages
more engineers to develop with and benefit
from patch-based composites production.
Given the combined advantages of additive
manufacturing and high-performance composites, Fibre Patch Placement is one of the
preferred options for additive composites
manufacturing currently in the market.
More information:
www.cevotec.com

As published in jec composites
magazine N°117 Nov./Dec. 2017

Fig. 2: Pressure cap being patched in the Samba Fibre Patch Placement system

Expert's digest jec

composites magazine Additive Manufacturing

89
http://www.cevotec.com
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - EXPERT’S DIGEST - ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING - 2020

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