Optimization of in-situ thermoplastic automated fiber placement process parameters through DoE

Abstract

The Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) process has the potential to significantly reduce process time and manufacturing costs of thin-walled structures made of reinforced high performance thermoplastics. However, this potential only can be fully utilized if the consolidation of the reinforced material is achieved in-situ. The ambitious goal, in-situ consolidation, depends on a large number of parameters including the nip point temperature, process speed, compaction roller pressure and the mould temperature. Given the inherently coupled nature of some of these parameters and the lengthy time required by common testing, different Design of Experiments (DoE) studies with different testing methods were performed in order to describe the consolidation quality for an unheated and heated tooling. From these DoE studies, recommendations for testing methods and for process parameters for carbon fibre reinforced PPS (CF-PPS) are made.