Integrated Thermoplastic Continuous Filament Fabrication and Fused Filament Fabrication for Rapid Manufacturing of Aircraft Structures for Sustainment
Abstract
High-performance thermoplastic resin systems can be reinforced with high strength structuralfibers along with a coupling agent in order to expand the use of thermoplastics into primarystructural applications. In addition to impact, chemical, and flame resistance, thermoplasticmaterial systems offer several attractive benefits for aircraft structural applications because of their resistance to aggressive environments such as high humidity, high temperature, and saltwater exposure as well as less stringent cleanroom requirements and no shelf life. Because of these advantages, reinforced thermoplastics (RTP) are now being considered for key aircraft structural applications and integration into automated fiber placement (AFP) technologies to considerablyincrease the production rates. Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is an extrusion additivemanufacturing process, where the object is built by depositing melted material through a heated nozzle in thin layers. The plastics used correspond to the same thermoplastics that can be found in conventional manufacturing processes. FFF can be used for manufacturing highly optimized complex parts that are extremely challenging to manufacture with traditional subtractive technologies. Typically, FFF structures have substandard manufacturing quality (ex, porosity, in adequate surface finish, and, poor fatigue performance) and repeatability for aircraft primary and secondary structural applications and require significant process optimization. When combined, the integrated AFP or continuous filament fabrication (CFF) and FFF process provides a uniqueopportunity for producing composite parts without layup tools and out-of-autoclave processes with in-situ consolidation. Accurate 6-axis robot and a turn table providing 7-axis degree of freedom, this system can produce complex 3D parts in a large isothermal heated chamber. With the proposed approach, light weight high performance layup tool can also be manufactured with the hybrid CFF and FFF process to meet the requirements. In addition to producing highly optimized lightweight structures, the layup tools can be integrated into a part during manufacturing and a secondary process can be used for dissolving tooling material leaving the finished continuous fiber-reinforced structural component. This integrated approach allows the transfer of a digital models to replacement parts, eliminating the need for time-consuming and costly tools required for traditional composite manufacturing methods.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 05, 2021
- Source ID
- N000142112514
Entities
People
- Waruna Seneviratne
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Wichita State University