Multi-orbital placement of towpregs on cylindrical foam cores in continuous CFRP rod production

authored by: Berend Denkena, Carsten Schmidt, Marco Bogenschütz, Martin Schütze
Abstract: Established manufacturing processes for CFRP hollow sections, such as pultrusion or similar wet impregnation processes techniques are already in place [1]. Due to the cost-intensive tools and process technology, such systems are usually designed for large quantities only [2]. Consequently, Schütze GmbH & Co. KG has developed a tool-free manufacturing process for producing customer specific, unidirectionally stiffened CFRP sandwich rods primarily designed for the aerospace industry. In collaboration with the Institute for Production Engineering and Machine Tools (IFW) at Leibniz Universität Hannover, they are conducting research aimed at advancing the manufacturing process. Instead of impregnation dry fiber rovings in the process, pre-impregnated fiber rovings, so-called towpregs, are to be used. While towpregs provide a significant cost advantage compared to standard prepreg tapes, they are at the mercy of a higher dimensional variance due to the manufacturing process [3]. Furthermore, the IFW in particular is developing and researching an additional process step to reinforce the sandwich rods with angular layers in the circumferential direction of the rod. This paper shows how the mathematical relationships in a continuous winding process translate to equipment technology and how the theoretical product range of the technology is determined. By flexibly stiffening the rods with circumferential layers, the range of applications for CFRP sandwich rods can be significantly expanded and the use of pre-impregnated towpreg materials makes them affordable and more resource-efficient. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of the ACM6.
Organisation(s): Institute of Production Engineering and Machine Tools
External Organisation(s): Schütze GmbH
Type: Article
Journal: Manufacturing Letters
Volume: 40
Pages: 118-120
No. of pages: 3
ISSN: 2213-8463
Publication date: 07.2024
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Mechanics of Materials, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mfglet.2024.03.018 (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{d01858ff11854638b467e9f9eac823ba,
title = "Multi-orbital placement of towpregs on cylindrical foam cores in continuous CFRP rod production",
abstract = "Established manufacturing processes for CFRP hollow sections, such as pultrusion or similar wet impregnation processes techniques are already in place [1]. Due to the cost-intensive tools and process technology, such systems are usually designed for large quantities only [2]. Consequently, Sch{\"u}tze GmbH & Co. KG has developed a tool-free manufacturing process for producing customer specific, unidirectionally stiffened CFRP sandwich rods primarily designed for the aerospace industry. In collaboration with the Institute for Production Engineering and Machine Tools (IFW) at Leibniz Universit{\"a}t Hannover, they are conducting research aimed at advancing the manufacturing process. Instead of impregnation dry fiber rovings in the process, pre-impregnated fiber rovings, so-called towpregs, are to be used. While towpregs provide a significant cost advantage compared to standard prepreg tapes, they are at the mercy of a higher dimensional variance due to the manufacturing process [3]. Furthermore, the IFW in particular is developing and researching an additional process step to reinforce the sandwich rods with angular layers in the circumferential direction of the rod. This paper shows how the mathematical relationships in a continuous winding process translate to equipment technology and how the theoretical product range of the technology is determined. By flexibly stiffening the rods with circumferential layers, the range of applications for CFRP sandwich rods can be significantly expanded and the use of pre-impregnated towpreg materials makes them affordable and more resource-efficient. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of the ACM6.",
keywords = "CFRP, Orbital lay-up, Rod, Sandwich, Towpreg",
author = "Berend Denkena and Carsten Schmidt and Marco Bogensch{\"u}tz and Martin Sch{\"u}tze",
note = "Funding Information: The authors thankfully acknowledge the financial and organizational support of the project TowPregRod (20Q1928B) by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).",
year = "2024",
month = jul,
doi = "10.1016/j.mfglet.2024.03.018",
language = "English",
volume = "40",
pages = "118--120",
journal = "Manufacturing Letters",
issn = "2213-8463",
publisher = "Society of Manufacturing Engineers",
}