World’s first prototype of a mobile, autonomous fibre layup unit
The mobile layup units can move around freely and lay the fibres directly in the mould. Several small, free-moving autonomous mobile layup units are expected to respond more flexibly than was previously the case to component scaling, geometry and design changes when used in a swarm, without rigid, limiting guidance kinematics. This research approach does away with the previously accepted correlation that a larger component implies the need for a larger production facility. As there is no requirement to reinforce the facility’s foundations, the technology can be used within existing production halls. Changed requirements and bottlenecks in production can be dealt with without high additional investment.
The intelligent swarm behaviour of the robots, which act in synchrony, increases efficiency and creates redundancy within the production facility – if one mobile layup unit fails, another can take its place and the facility does not have to come to a standstill. This makes continuous production lines for automated fibre placement possible for the first time. The use of mobile layup units in the production of large fibre-composite components is not limited to the field of aeronautics; another possible application is the production of wind turbine rotor blades. Since the mobile layup units can be deployed in such a flexible way, they could also be used to produce flat building components from fibre composites directly on construction sites.
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
Institute of Composite Structures and Adaptive Systems
Philipp Sämann · E-Mail: philipp.saemann@dlr.de · DLR.de
