Robotic near-net-shape manufacturing of composite parts with oriented short fiber reinforcements

Antony Paul, Purdue University

Abstract

Fiber reinforced composite materials are now frequently being used over conventional materials for their ability to achieve tailored properties and performance characteristics. With the recent advancements in manufacturing techniques, short-fiber composites are coming into prominence in this sector, with their cost advantage and their capability for large throughput. Randomness of fiber orientation is inherent to short fiber composite manufacturing processes. In order to effectively manipulate the mechanical properties of a short-fiber reinforced composite, it is imperative to adequately control the orientation of the fibers during the deposition stage. A process is currently developed to acquire geometrical data of the target object and to utilize it to create a short-fiber reinforced component with controlled fiber orientation. The topological data acquisition of the object is made possible using a non-contact 3D imaging technique. The geometric data is then transferred to a commercial CAD package for the added capability to manipulate the geometry as may be required for specific applications. Subsequently, geometric data constitutes the basis of path planning for the tooling and deposition processes. A previously developed rapidly re-configurable tooling technology is employed by which a 6-axis robotic arm is used to sculpt a pin-device vacuum surface. After the tooling is completed, the robotic arm will use a newly developed deposition nozzle to orient packets of initially random short fiber pre-preg segments from a feeder and deposit them onto a planar membrane surface. By controlling the position and orientation of the deposition nozzle, it is possible to control the orientation and density of fiber in each section of the near-net shaped composite preform. The fiber preform is then impregnated with a suitable matrix medium and formed on the vacuum tooling surface using a novel molding technique. The matrix is then allowed to cure to create the required component. The outlined process is thus capable of manufacturing a near-net shaped short fiber reinforced composite component with highly specific mechanical properties.

Degree

M.S.M.E.

Advisors

Siegmund, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Mechanical engineering|Robotics|Materials science

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