Automated Preforming of Carbon Fibers for Aerospace Applications

The fabrication of complex stiffening structures for Aerospace applications with state-of-the-art production technology still requires numerous manual sub-steps during the manufacturing. With regards to increasing production volumes for current and future generation aircraft, automated methods for individual process tasks are required in order to meet the demand. This thesis aims to outline an automated process alternative to the commonly used preforming method for carbon fiber fabrics in order to achieve cycle time and part cost improvements. This challenge is approached from two different directions, namely a process and a raw material perspective.