Innovative Automated Ply Placement for Thermoset Prepreg Materials

Discover Airborne’s cutting-edge solution for Automated Ply Placement (APP) of thermoset prepreg materials. Our latest video showcases an advanced system designed to create freeshape, multi-material tailored blanks and tackles the significant challenge in handling prepreg, which is the removal of backing paper or protective foil. Dive into the details of our unique approach, which utilizes several distinct strategies: kiss-cut, naked prepreg, and pre-layup removal, ensuring efficiency and precision in the placement of prepreg materials. How APP can help meet your challenges: Have full design freedom in defining your laminates. You can create any freeform shape, add ply drop-offs, use local patches, make the laminate lighter by adding holes, combine materials for optimal performance versus cost balance Use any material format: UD tape, fabric, non-woven, recycled, core, film, metal layer, sheets Enable high-rate manufacturing by using an industrial 2-step strategy: manufacture the 2D blank at high speed, process into 3D in 1 step using methods such hot drape forming, double diaphragm forming, press forming, prepreg compression moulding Ideally suited to use with fast-curing prepreg materials Easy integration into the next process steps Super flexible, no programming required Full digital quality control Reduced footprint in your expensive clean room: cutting and layup is integrated, which reduces floorspace and eliminates the logistic challenge of transport all plies into the factory Significant efficiency improvements If you're involved in the composite materials industry, this video shows not only highlights innovative solutions to common challenges but also demonstrates the potential for significant efficiency improvements in the manufacturing process.