CompositesWorld
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8 CompositesWorld PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE AUGUST 2015 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Carroll Grant is an independent contractor and occasional CW columnist. He provides marketing and automated process consulting services to the aerospace composites industry. For more information about his services, he can be contacted at (801) 495-1819 or cggrant@xmission.com subsequently cut into individual pieces that are hot formed to achieve fnal part shape. When AFP is required to layup a more complex shaped part, the robot rotates to the side of the workcell that has a layup tool loaded into the headstock/tailstock. Elec- troimpact machine engineer Guy Faubion says, "One of the most attractive features of a dual-process workcell is it allows for complete cell utilization. Te robot can be working in one workcell zone while personnel safely perform manual tasks, such as, part load/unload, part inspection, etc., in the other work zone." In both the MTorres and Electroimpact workcells, the slit tape material spools are mounted on the delivery heads. When the head runs out of (or runs low on) material, it can be changed out quickly for a delivery head with full spools of material and, therefore, minimize process down time. On Electroimpact's dual-process workcell, for example, a spent delivery head can be dropped of and a fresh one picked up within 90 seconds. With head quick-change capability, these workcells can use a conventional, individual tow-control AFP head to lay up complex- shaped parts and, if so desired, change to a compact-sized, low- complexity ATL head to lay up fat laminates. MTorres machine design engineer Manu Motilva says, "Changing delivery heads from AFP processing to conventional ATL processing especially makes sense when several material formats are used. For example, ATL works great with fberglass and expanded copper mesh, while the AFP head, with a 16-tow capacity, provides a material band up to 8 inches (203 mm) wide, and this should be sufcient for laying carbon fber fat laminates on the layup-table side of the workcell." Te processing fexibility, smaller size, ease of installation and lower cost of these robot-based workcells should make them very attractive to Tier II shops that supply smaller composite aircraft parts. Tier IIs have little need for (nor can they usually aford) large ATL and AFP equipment, but for many of them, at least some of the parts they build would beneft from AFP and/or ATL. Small dual-process workcells could provide the automated processing capabilities the smaller shops would like to have. Dual-process workcell technology has been a need in aero- space composites for a long time. I suspect they will become quite popular in the coming years and that more suppliers will ofer them. Automated lamination technology is, indeed, evolving … and that's a good thing. Stay tuned. Te best may be yet to come. WHETHER YOU'RE BUYING 2 OR 200... ...THERE'S A SUPERIOR TOOL IN YOUR FUTURE! Tools for Composite, Aluminum, Titanium, Steel. Quick Turnaround on Tools & Coating. ORDER RAPID CUSTOM MADE: 800.428.TOOL (8665) TO BUY ONLINE STOCK: SUPERIORTOOLSERVICE.COM