PulForm

The objective of the project was the development of a single-stage resource and energy efficient as well as economical manufacturing technology for the production of high-performance fiber composite components of complex geometry for series applications of medium and high quantities. This has been realized by linking the preform process by in-line braiding with pultrusion, blow molding and final machining.

• Interlinking of the manufacturing steps: In-line braiding, pultrusion, blow molding, final machining
  
• Cycle times of 3 - 5 min; target annual production quantities of 50,000 to 200,000
• Significant reduction of production waste, scrap and rework
• Significant reduction of process costs compared to the RTM process

Within the project duration, a production process chain could be implemented on an industrial scale:

• Development of a concept for the automation of handling tasks and mechanical finishing
• Optimization of cycle times through automated loading and online process monitoring of the curing process
• Manufacturing of demonstrator components

Project duration: January 2012 to June 2015

Project partners:

AUDI AG • AROTEC Automation und Robotik GmbH • DSM Composite Resins AG • Ing. Büro Dipl.-Ing. Stefan Postupka / FEM-solutions Engineering • MAPAL Dr. Kress KG • Maus GmbH • Technokon GmbH • Voith Composites GmbH & Co. KG • DLR - Center for Lightweight Production Technology (ZLP) • Fraunhofer IGCV • University of Stuttgart - IFB

This research and development project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the framework concept "Research for the Production of Tomorrow" (funding code 02PJ2035) and managed by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA).