Reshaping Aircraft Interior Parts Manufacturing

Relevant Industry Trends:

The increasing demand for carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTP) is propelled by their remarkable strength-to-weight ratio compared to metals, as well as their recyclability, which positions them favorably against mainstream thermoset composite solutions. However, manufacturing these parts efficiently while maintaining fiber length integrity remains a challenge

Industry Challenge and Needs:

The aerospace industry's goal of reducing aircraft weight is widely known. This objective is critical for enhancing fuel efficiency, preserving the environment, and elevating overall aircraft performance. To accomplish this, there is a concerted effort to refine the manufacturing of carbon fiber composites that offer strength, lightness, and eco-friendliness. Yet, conventional manufacturing techniques encounter notable hurdles in consistently delivering premium quality parts, hindering effective fulfillment of these requirements. While performance is critical, competitive cost is often the main hurdle to overcome in aerospace applications today.

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How We Solve It:

The Composites Manufacturing and Simulation Center (CMSC) at Purdue University used AFT to efficiently design and manufacture high-performance composite brackets using discontinuous fiber Bulk Molding Compound (BMC) platelets and continuous fiber preforms. Molded brackets with and without continuous fiber preforms were tested and compared to an Aluminum baseline. Figure 1a shows the overview of a 60% carbon fiber reinforced Poly Ether Ketone Ketone (CF/PEKK) molded bracket using approximately 80% by weight of end-of-life (EoL) shredded composite material and 20% of printed preforms. Figure 1b shows that the AFT bracket matched the baseline Aluminum bracket in ultimate failure load and improved the onset of failure by approximately 30%, while the BMC-only part did not meet performance requirements. Matching the performance at nearly half the weight speaks for itself.
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Figure on the left: AFT bracket; Figure on the right: Failure load and onset of failure comparison for different brackets.

As an example, for a commercial airplane pin bracket, 9T Labs offers localized reinforcement using a minimal amount of material to achieve the necessary mechanical performance. For the infill, chopped fiber thermoplastic chips or recycled material is used to provide a more cost-effective approach. Only 20% of the volume is continuous fiber!

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The Outcomes Achieved thanks to Additive Fusion Technology™:

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The results showed an increase of 99.6% in the load at the onset of failure, an increase of 25% in ultimate failure, and a corresponding decrease of 46% and 14.8% in the coefficient of variation (CV), respectively, by reinforcing the bracket with approximately 20% by weight of continuous fiber preforms. Increasing strength while decreasing variability result in positive implications to the design allowables for this class of materials. The prospect of upcycling end-of-life (EoL) composite material and parts for new structural part applications was demonstrated with AFT. Computed tomography (CT) scans were performed prior to testing to verify position of reshaped preforms and Digital Image Correlation (DIC) was used on all brackets tested. Full details on the collaborative work can be found in literature spanning across several technical papers presented both at SAMPE and CAMX conferences since 2022.

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Want to Know More?

Explore how AFT can revolutionize the manufacturing of carbon fiber parts for aerospace. Check out our papers from:

Add AFT to your engineering toolbox today to create the sustainable parts of tomorrow.

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