Rapid Placement Technology for Affordable Composites Manufacturing

摘要

The RAPTECH-ACM program yielded the following research accomplishments: (1)Development of process models governing heat transfer, consolidation, crystallization, intimate contact, healing, and residual stress and warpage. These models have been incorporated into a real-time neural-network-based simulation. (2) Incorporation of advanced model-based control on line and optimization to establish setpoints for heat input, velocity, and pressure to achieve the desired quality (i.e., bonding, void content). (3) Integration of infrared sensors for feedback control. (4) Successful demonstration on lab-scale robotic workcell. (5) Transition of technology to industrial partners. (6) Mounting of DuPont Generation 3 head onto Cincinnati Milacron's gantry tape layer, where it is being used to make high-quality parts for HSR (less than 1% void content, mechanical properties approaching autoclave baseline).