Horizontal tail plane fairing
A 6-axis robot of an FPP SAMBA system, equipped with a form-adaptive gripper, picked-up precut patches via vacuum from a table. The robot then placed the patches precisely to software-determined positions, using advaned FPP features like zonal suction, 3D rolling motion, and post-placement push-in. The developed placement methods are generally available for automating complex sandwich structures.
Why and Whom
The horizontal tail plane (HTP) fairing protects and shields the structural attachment of the horizontal tail to the empennage. High geometric complexity and a sandwich structure combining monolithic skins, film adhesives and honeycomb cores make manual manufacturing complicated and time-consuming. The project partners targeted full lay-up automation to accelerate production and decrease cost.
Key Benefits
Cevotec''s Fiber Patch Placement (FPP) technology enabled the project partners to place the different fiber materials of the component fully automated. In addition, time-consuming intermediate debuling steps were removed, and critical stiffness was increased by 25%. The project demonstrated the potential to accelerate the lay-up of this part by factor 7x compared to the current reference proecess.