Automation
Astro and Paterson Composites partner to build autonomous Passenger Drone
The drone is designed to reduce aircraft weight and magnetic interference using fiber-optic technology, and the exterior is built with carbon fiber materials.
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Robotmaster V7 offers CAD/CAM integration
Hypertherm has launched Robotmaster V7, a task-based robot programming platform rebuilt on new architecture to offer integrated CAD/CAM functionality and more intuitive robot programming tools.
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Improving composites processing with automated inspection, Part II
Three additional inspection equipment providers describe their development of inline production quality-control systems.
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TE Wire & Cable and Plataine join forces to develop smart thermocouples
The joint solution improves quality compliance and tracking processes, and reduces the risk of using unfit thermocouples.
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Mahr expands OPTIMAR 100
OPTIMAR 100 is a proven solution for testing dial and digital indicators, test indicators and dial comparators, with image processing for the automated testing of measuring equipment.
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An SMC machinery provider adds automation
About the time that I started writing about the composites industry, I was introduced to the concept of SMC – sheet molding compound. I was intrigued this year at the JEC World in Paris to meet with a German company, Schmidt & Heinzmann (S&H, Bruchsal, Germany).
WatchContinuous fiber TPCs are smart for world’s largest appliance manufacturer
Unveiled on March 8 at the China Household Electrical Appliances and Consumer Electronics Fair (AWE, Shangai), Haier’s (Qingdao, China) “smart” Tianxi air conditioner is the world’s first AC unit to feature continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) materials. in its high-end Casarte line (Italian “Casa” for home and “Arte” for art), The relationship holds much promise for CFRTP supplier Covestro (Leverkeusen, Germany; Pittsburgh, PA, US; Shanghai, China). The world’s number one appliance manufacturer, Haier’s products can alread be found in 1 million households.
Read MoreAirborne, Siemens, SABIC partner for TPC mass production
Having acquired Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastics B.V. (FRT, Lelystad, Netherlands) in 2016, SABIC was looking for a partner to produce large quantities of thermoplastic composite parts (using its UDMAX tapes, of course) at a radically lower cost. “We have been doing this type of work for a variety of industries,” says Arno van Mourik, founder and director of Airborne (The Hague, The Netherlands). His company is the leading manufacturer of thermoplastic composite pipe for oil and gas. “We have developed software and an industrialized process that now produces 40-50 tonnes of continuous product in one go without touch labor.” In 2015, Airborne built the Digital Factory Composites Field Lab with partners Siemens (Plano, TX, US) and KUKA Robotics (Augsburg, Germany) to pursue digitalization of composites processes.
Read MoreThermoplastic composites: Past the tipping point?
The manufacturing world watched a decade ago as automatically placed thermoset composite tapes replaced aluminum in commercial airframes and made composites a household word in markets around the world. Has the time come for thermoplastic composite tapes to make a similar impact?
Read MoreData infrastructure in composites manufacturing: A growing need
As more automation enters the fabrication process for composites, new data infrastructure is required to guide that automation.
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