Experimental Analysis of Prepreg Tack

Dubois, O.; Cam, Jean‐Benoît Le; Béakou, A.

doi:10.1007/s11340-009-9236-7

Cited by 54 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…In probe tack tests Dubois et al [15] show that the adhesion (debonding force) between unidirectional prepreg and an aluminum probe is dependent on the contact time and force between the two surfaces. Longer contact times and higher contact forces result in a stronger bond.…”

Section: Prepreg Handling and Gripper Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-cost Automation for Prepreg Handling - Two Cases from the Aerospace Industry

Björnsson¹,

Lindbäck²,

Eklund³

et al. 2015

SAE Int. J. Mater. Manf.

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With an increased use of composite materials within the aerospace industry follows a need for rational and cost-effective methods for composite manufacturing. Manual operations are still common for low to medium manufacturing volumes and complex products. Manual operations can for example be found in material handling, when picking prepreg plies from a cutter table and stacking them to form a plane laminate in preparation for a subsequent forming operation. Stacking operations of this kind often involves a great number of different ply geometries and removal of backing paper and other protecting materials like plastic. In this paper two different demonstrator cells for automated picking of prepreg plies and stacking of plane laminates are presented. One demonstrator is utilizing a standard industrial robot and an advanced end-effector to handle the ply variants. The other demonstrator is using a dual arm robot which allow for simpler end-effector design. In combination with a previously developed system for automated removal of backing papers both systems have shown to be capable of automatically picking prepreg plies from a plane surface and stack them to generate a flat multistack laminate. The dual arm approach has shown advantageous since it result in simpler end-effector design and a successive lay down sequence that result in good adhesion between the plies in the laminate.

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Section: Prepreg Handling and Gripper Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-cost Automation for Prepreg Handling - Two Cases from the Aerospace Industry

Björnsson¹,

Lindbäck²,

Eklund³

et al. 2015

SAE Int. J. Mater. Manf.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The tack is dependent on the resin used as a matrix, the fibers as well as ambient conditions [63]. Depending on the manufacturing method and the use of backing paper, the tack level can differ between the two sides of a prepreg ply [64]. The level of tack is dependent on temperature and the age of the material, as well as on relative humidity in the air during aging [64].…”

Section: Prepregmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Depending on the manufacturing method and the use of backing paper, the tack level can differ between the two sides of a prepreg ply [64]. The level of tack is dependent on temperature and the age of the material, as well as on relative humidity in the air during aging [64]. The dependencies between tack and other parameters is complex.…”

Section: Prepregmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been shown that the material age can affect the tack response to heating [65], and that different prepreg materials exhibit very different responses to temperature changes, where low-tack prepreg shows an increased tack and high tack prepreg shows a decreased tack with increased temperatures [66]. The bond between two pieces of prepreg or a piece of prepreg and another surface is also affected by the contact time and force used during attachment [64].…”

Section: Prepregmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The material properties of prepreg with low structural rigidity and a tacky surface are particularly challenging for automated layup systems [69,122]. The level of tack is dependent on temperature and the age of the material as well as on relative humidity in the air during aging, and the level can differ between the two sides of a prepreg ply [64]. The dependencies between tack and other parameters are complex.…”

Section: Requirements and Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Automated layup and forming of prepreg laminates

Björnsson¹

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Composite materials like carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) present highly appealing material properties, as they can combine high strength with low weight. In aerospace applications, these properties help to realize lightweight designs that can reduce fuel consumption. Within the aerospace industry, the use of these types of materials has increased drastically with the introduction of a new generation of commercial aircraft. This increased use of CFRP drives a need to develop more rational manufacturing methods.For aerospace applications, CFRP products are commonly manufactured from a material called prepreg, which consists of carbon fibers impregnated with uncured polymer resin. There are two dominant manufacturing technologies for automated manufacturing using prepreg, automated tape layup and automated fiber placement. These two technologies are not suitable for all types of products, either due to technical limitations or a combination of high investment costs and low productivity. Automation alternatives to the two dominant technologies have been attempted, but have so far had limited impact. Due to the lack of automation alternatives, manual manufacturing methods are commonly employed for the manufacturing of complex-shaped products in low to medium manufacturing volumes.The research presented in this thesis aims to explore how automated manufacturing systems for the manufacturing of complex CFRP products made from prepreg can be designed so that they meet the needs and requirements of the aerospace industry, and are suitable for low to medium production volumes. In order to explore the area, a demonstrator-centered research approach has been employed. A number of demonstrators, in the form of automated manufacturing cells, have been designed and tested with industrial and research partners. The demonstrators have been used to identify key methods and technologies that enable this type of manufacturing, and to analyze some of these methods and technologies in detail. The demonstrators have also been used to map challenges that affect the development of enabling methods and technologies.Automated manufacturing of products with complex shapes can be simplified by dividing the process into two steps. Thin layers of prepreg are laid up on top of each other to form flat laminates that are formed to the desired shape in subsequent forming operations. The key methods and technologies required to automate such a system are methods and technologies for automated prepreg layup, the automated removal of backing paper and the forming of complex shapes. The main challenges are the low structural rigidity and tacky nature of prepreg materials, the extensive quality requirements in the aerospace industry and the need for the systems to handle a wide array of prepreg shapes.The demonstrators show that it is possible to automate the manufacturing of complexshaped products using automated layup and forming of prepreg laminates. Tests using the demonstrators indicate that it is possible to meet the quality req...

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Prepreg tack: A review of mechanisms, measurement, and manufacturing implication

2020

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The stickiness of prepregs (tack) is considered a decisive material property for the success of high‐quality composite manufacturing by automated lay‐up processes such as automated fiber placement (AFP) or automated tape laying (ATL). Adverse control of prepreg tack can easily result in laminate defects or machine breakdown, which are highly undesirable considering the tremendous machinery and material costs of these processes. Prepreg tack is governed by a complex interaction of adhesive and cohesive phenomena that are influenced by machine and environmental parameters of the production process as well as by intrinsic properties of the prepreg material itself. This review aims at providing a condensed insight into the current state of research on prepreg tack. Therefore, experimental studies including the discussion of utilized tack measurement methods as well as model approaches to prepreg tack are reviewed. The findings are discussed against the background of fundamental mechanisms, the strong interdependency of influencing parameters and the challenge of translating measured tack data into an enhanced AFP/ATL process stability by process adjustment.

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Experimental Analysis of Prepreg Tack

Cited by 54 publications

References 14 publications

Low-cost Automation for Prepreg Handling - Two Cases from the Aerospace Industry

Low-cost Automation for Prepreg Handling - Two Cases from the Aerospace Industry

Automated layup and forming of prepreg laminates

Prepreg tack: A review of mechanisms, measurement, and manufacturing implication

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