Overview
Liquid infusion process has been proved by recent researches to be suitable for the manufacturing of structural aeronautical components. The aim of this proposal was to develop a detailed analysis of the technical, economical and environmental impact of the extrapolation to industrial condition of the liquid infusion manufacturing technique. This analysis was deemed to be a necessary step in the successful scaling-up of the process for the fabrication of aeronautical components.
The activity planned to achieve the aim of the proposal was organised in several work packages oriented to:
- clarify the applicability of the process in the real industrial environment;
- identify the requirements to implement the process and to start the production phase;
- quantify the technical and economical impact of the new process;
- prepare a risk assessment and a manufacturing plan;
- define the optimum process procedures and an operative manual.
The research team if formed by two universities and a private research center, all with a large experience in the field of composite and the analysis proposed will be carried out by using the state-of-the art techniques in the different areas, taking advantage of the synergistic competences of the partners in the key areas of the proposal (aeronautic composites manufacturing processes, realization of feasibility studies of industrial plants and processes, analysis of the environmental impact of industrial processes) and the data/information provided by the Topic Manager Company.
Funding
Results
Project Results:
Liquid infusion process has been proved by recent researches to be suitable for the manufacturing of structural aeronautical components. The aim of this project was to develop a detailed analysis of the technical, economical and environmental impact of the extrapolation to industrial condition of the liquid infusion manufacturing technique.
This analysis was deemed to be a necessary step in the successful scaling-up of the process for the fabrication of aeronautical components. The activity carried out to achieve the aim of the proposal had been the following:
1) Preliminary conceptual analysis of the process, where the Raw Materials to be used have been identified, as well as the main phases of the process in order to clarify the applicability of the process in the real industrial environment and to identify the requirements to implement the process and to start the production phase.
2) Path to bring process to production phase: A production line for the industrial manufacturing of a reference part, which has been introduced by ALA during the kick-off meeting, has been conceptually designed by means of a production plan as well as a production layout. For that purpose, the individual working steps of the entire production process, i.e. from the arrival of the required materials to quality checks on the final component, have been investigated. Moreover, a production layout has been developed which addresses the entirety of working steps required for manufacturing a single type of reference part in a cyclic manner along a single processing route.
3) Technical and economical impact. Several activities were carried out in this phase. In particular:
- Breakeven point analysis. A breakeven point analysis was carried out which showed that the automated fiber placement solution is preferable by an economic point of view after a breakeven point of 73 manufactured panels per year
- Manual work force rough-cut capacity estimation. A rough-cut capacity estimation of the manual work force necessary to produce the reference panel was carried out.
- Oven and robot utilization curves.
- The layout and energy consumptions. An estimation of the floor spaces required in the plant was made.
4) Impact of manufacturing process defects into mechanical performances and costs. An analysis of the of manufacturing process defects into mechanical performances and costs was carried out
5) Evaluation of the economic impact. The cost elements were divided by category and by their being variable or fixed.
6) Life Cycle Assessment. The SimaPro software was used in order to carry out the LCA.
7) Risk assessment. A risk assessment was carried out to identify and minimize risks during manufacturing and provide recommendations for particular issues. The major outcome of the risk assessment was the introduction of a job card.
8) Manufacturing plan. A manufacturing plan was developed, with indications about optimal equipments to be used and their utilization.
9) Standard manual. A standard manual has been established. It provides a set of recommendations for the development of process specifications for the industrialisation of the manufacturing of the wing stiffened panel in composite material.