IMPULS

Technologies for efficient aircraft frame production

The Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) process offers enormous potential for developing innovative solutions for CFRP components. Numerous previous research projects speak for the success of the technology, for example the production of door frame structures for the Airbus A350.

In engineering, material and maintenance as well as quality control, however, there are cost issues that stand in the way of a much broader use of the technology for economic reasons. The Fraunhofer IGCV addressed these challenges within the joint project »Innovative, medium-term implementable and cost-saving solutions for CFRP fuselage structure components« (IMPULS) in the aviation research program of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (FKZ 20W1526F).

Info »IMPULS«

Project duration: October 2016 to September 2019
Sponsor: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi) – Luftfahrtforschungsprogramm V Zweiter Aufruf (LuFo V-2)
Project partners: Fraunhofer IFAM, Airbus Operations GmbH, Technische Universität Dresden, Ferdinand Stükerjürgen GmbH & Co.KG, Premium Aerotec GmbH, SimpaTec Simulation & Technology Consulting GmbH, IMA GmbH, HBW-Gubesch Thermoforming GmbH, Faserinstitut Bremen e.V., FFT Produktionssysteme GmbH & Co. KG, Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH, Technische Universität Chemnitz, Neue Materialien Bayreuth GmbH, Universität Stuttgart, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., Cotesa GmbH, Cetex Institut, Broetje-Automation GmbH, Airbus Defence and Space GmbH

© Fraunhofer IGCV
Potential for saving resources by automating design and NC programming in the engineering process of aircraft frames

© Fraunhofer IGCV
Development of an event-based model with mathematical optimization to minimize material and knife change costs

Engineering - Automation of the construction

In the area of engineering, the automation of the design as well as the NC programming in preparation for the Automated Fiber Placement process was realized. Here, manual work steps could be minimized by the use of specially developed algorithms. By means of the project-specific demonstrator component, up to 62 percent of the working time could be saved.

Dynamic process optimization

In the field of material and maintenance, an event-based model based on mathematical optimizations was implemented to minimize material and blade change costs. During the prototypical implementation, up to 19 percent of the costs could be saved.

Filing quality assessment and »Smart First Article Inspection Application«

The quality control of the individual layers of the Automated Fiber Placement process is currently carried out manually by visual inspection in most cases. Within the project an optical measuring system was integrated into the process chain and used to check the placement quality. In addition, a »Smart First Article Inspection Application« for the qualitative initial acceptance of series components was prototypically implemented and validated. All in all, this results in an automated monitoring of the placement criteria and quality and thus an enormous savings potential in terms of costs and working time.

The experience of the Fraunhofer IGCV in the field of Automated Fiber Placement could be used in this project to further optimize the predecessors and subsequent steps of the actual manufacturing process and thus to represent a more cost and resource efficient overall process chain.