COMPOSITE STRUCTURES MANUFACTURED WITHOUT THE WASTE FROM TOOLING USING 3D COMPOSITE KITS

摘要

Large FRP structures such as ship hulls are manufactured as either a single piece, or as an assembly of a few very large components. This requires the design and fabrication of very large moulds and in many cases large curing ovens. The tooling cost and lead-time of very sizable moulds are the limiting factors leading to the stagnation of widespread composite uptake as large structures are in many cases one-off designs or small series designs. 3D Composite Kits offer a disruptive tool-less method for the manufacturing of large composite structures. A 3D Composite Kit is a set of panels with single- or multi-step overlaps and enable the assembly of a complete composite structure without the waste from tooling. 3D Composite Kits are manufactured using adaptive mould technology and on-the-mould curing equipment. This technology enables a shift from the current state-of-the-art composite building of capital-intensive infrastructure and the wasteful "disposable tooling" mindset to an economically beneficial, faster and more sustainable approach.