CompositesWorld
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37 CompositesWorld.com NEWS N E W S N S N E W S E N W S W Carbures Spain (Harbin, China) that involve commercialization of assembly lines for autocomposite parts. Te 2,600m 2 facility was built in 2014. Fabian Patus, Mobility's quality and operations director, and Mariangeles Gonzalo Vallejo, plant coordinator, lead the tour, starting with its SQCDP quality area. Here, we're told, additional metrics are employed for automotive manufacturing, including OEE (overall equipment efciency) and the system known as "5S," a workplace organization system origi- nally based on Japanese lean process development. "It means 'one place for everything, and everything in its place,' which has really helped our productivity," says Gonzalo. "We will also start to imple- ment Six Sigma methods in the near future, to ensure stability of our processes." Te facility anticipates obtaining ISO TS16949, a quality management certifcation for the application of ISO 9001 to auto- motive production, by November of this year. IRIS, the International Railway Industry Standard, should be in place by July 1, adds Patus. Our next stop is an area of the shop foor dedicated to an assem- bly project for automotive supplier Huf (Velbert, Germany). Further on, Patus shows two projects for rail customer CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, Beasain, Spain) involving assembly of mechanically activated emergency exit ramps for underground subway and above-ground trains. Although these projects don't currently involve composites, Mobility's chief design engineer Manuel Andrés Rey says Carbures in El Burgo de Osma is working with CAF to convert metal elements of the exit ramps to composites, using a light RTM process. Te facility's centerpiece, however, is an automated workcell that is a forerunner of the coming Rapid Multi-injection Compres- sion Process (RMCP), an automated, injection-based workcell developed and patented by Carbures. Te RCMP is expected to be a primary means to fulfll its Shenyang Hengrui contracts. RCMP details are proprietary, but the current workcell operates as a high- pressure RTM (HP-RTM) system for making complex structural parts, explains Patus. "Te cell is equipped with a single resin injec- tion port, and is making parts right now." He points out an adjacent area, under construction, where an RMCP line will be located, noting that it will employ multiple injection points, enabling mold fll in seconds, using relatively low injection pressure, which will, in turn, allow the use of a smaller-tonnage press. When complete, the new RMCP line will look similar to the existing automated cell, but, Neuhäusler contends, "With a cycle time of 3-6 minutes, one RMCP line, running 24/7/365, will produce up to 150,000 parts per year." Patus explains that a building expansion over the next 18 months will make room for more RMCP lines and a new testing laboratory. "We anticipate that we'll have four part-production lines by 2020 in Burgo de Osma," asserts Neuhäusler. Te existing RTM workcell takes automatically cut plies of carbon non-crimp fabric from an automated cutting table. Te plies are robotically placed in a heated tool on the press shuttle, using a needle gripper-equipped end-efector. Te tool is shuttled into position in the open press, vacuum is applied and the press closes the tool as epoxy resin, which includes an internal mold release, is Take the Lead. www.staubli.us When it comes to developing and producing innovative textile products for industry, you'll take the lead with highly developed Stäubli solutions for technical textiles. From weaving preparation to shed formation to individually confgurable weaving system solutions, Stäubli offers innovative machines and systems that produce high quality technical textiles for a wide range of appli- cations. Pick up Stäubli's know-how and rise to the top of the textile charts. For more information call (800) 845-9193 A N N I V E R S A R Y 0 2 HPC Charter Advertiser