Optimizing in-situ consolidation of xenon flashlamp based automated fiber placement

Abstract

Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) of high performance thermoplastic composites is a flexible and efficient process for component manufacturing due to its level of automation. The in-situ consolidation of the material facilitates a lean, single-stage process. However, current drawbacks such as inferior material properties and high non-recurring costs (e.g. laser safety housing) need to be improved to assure acceptance in industry. Flashlamp heating may render safety housing unnecessary enabling a straightforward implementation in production lines, especially for large composite parts. A flashlamp was employed to study in-situ consolidation of CF/LM-PAEK material. Standard deviation of single lap shear testing showed that a high level of reproducibility was reached with the novel heat source. However, as crystallinity values are comparably low due to high cooling rates an economical two-step process that incorporates tempering of the specimen was investigated to increase mechanical performance. Further measures to establish a single step process with flashlamp heating are discussed.