The company will provide the technical support for the new standard systems to emerge from cooperation with the Fraunhofer IPT, which are now being marketed by Conbility and will carry out all maintenance on the equipment as well as offering training courses for industrial clients.
The new tape-placement system PrePro 3D was presented by the two partners for the first time at the Composite Materials Fair JEC World from 6-8 March 2018 in Paris.
The PrePro-3D-applicator is available as a modular system and can be integrated as a plug-in retrofit in existing robot or machine systems. It is suitable for processing pre-impregnated semi-finished products known as prepregs. The feature of this setup is that this allows complex, three-dimensional preforms to be produced directly. The advanced laser technology used can accommodate a wide range of process temperature, enabling the system to perform laser-assisted thermoplastic tape placement and to process thermoset prepregs with ease.
The system is capable of producing tubular components as well as complex 3D structures. In order to facilitate integration in existing equipment, the product has a decentralised control system which communicate with the machine system via standard interface, thereby ensuring a particularly high level of versatility in terms of applications.
Fraunhofer IPT can draw on over 30 years of experience in the development of tape-placement and winding systems. Different versions of placement and winding systems as well as customised special-purpose machines have been developed, set up, optimised and transferred to industrial application in recent years as part of numerous publicly funded projects and in collaborative ventures with industry.
Not only has the Fraunhofer IPT acquired a thorough understanding of process control and in-line quality assurance systems which it develops and refines continually, it also has extensive experience in the use of a diverse range of heat sources such as hot gas, infrared projectors microwave and laser technology.
