Technical Paper
Integrating 20 Tow, 1.5 Inch AFP Heads on Large Part for High Deposition Rate Application
2017-09-19
2017-01-2149
As carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) become more integrated into the design of large single piece aircraft structures, aircraft manufacturers are demanding higher speed and efficiency in Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) deposition systems. To facilitate the manufacturing of large surface area and low contour parts (wing skins, in this case) at a high production rate, Electroimpact has developed a new AFP head consisting of 20 1.5 inch wide pre-impregnated carbon tows. The new head design has been named the ‘OH20’, short for ‘One and a Half Inch, 20 Tows’. This AFP head format creates a deposition swath over 30 inches wide when all 20 tows are active. A total of four of these AFP heads have been integrated with a quick change robotic tool changer on two high speed, high acceleration, and high accuracy moving beam gantries. All head CFRP spool loading, maintenance, and cleaning can be accomplished in a maintenance cell while the other AFP head is depositing CFRP in the part cell.
