These three companies think, Thermoplastic composites are the next generation of lightweight materials, from electronics to automotive to aerospace applications such as increasing Expertise in their respective fields is key. Siemens digital capabilities further enhance Airborne's experience in the development of composite components and the industrialization of processes that include the complete composite CAD-CAE-CAM chain, digital factory solutions And digital dual platform SABIC Innovative Plastics offers its UDMAX thermoplastic composite unidirectional tapes with extensive knowledge of materials and their own research and development in composite processing and product design Objectives: Low cost mass production of thermoplastic composites.
The Saudi Basic Industries FRT business uses its proprietary HPFIT technology to produce UDMAX thermoplastic tape that is fast and accurate and can deliver thousands of glass or carbon fibers and combine them with polymer matrices. , The resulting tapes have high fiber content, high quality fiber impregnation and minimal void content, and less broken fibers. (Note: UDMAX and HPFIT are trademarks of SABIC and its affiliates.)
Cooperation background
Airborne, a leading manufacturer of thermoplastic composite pipes for oil and natural gas, has developed and built a fully automated production process, commissioning a new plant in 2012 and Airborne Oil & Gas two years later, attracting investors from Shell, Chevron, Saudi Arabia Ami and Evonik shareholders.
'We met SABIC in the development of oil and gas,' says van Mourik. "We have developed software and industrial processes for these continuous composite crimp tubes and can now produce 40-50 tons of product in a single pass without any extra labor '
John O'Connor of Siemens said: 'This is a classic example of the complete industrialization of composites, where the most advanced technologies are reaching the same level of composites as any other industrial material. The competitiveness of composites has been a limiting factor in productivity So that's where we think of Siemens as unique and our focus is on digitization.We can use CAD-CAE-CAM products to provide design and simulation to the shop floor.We can also use digital factory solutions such as control Drive and production system drive, and our digital twin technology. '
Materials and parts
The material is where SABIC is used. "We have a lot of thermoplastic resin," said Francato. "At SABIC Innovative Plastics, we believe that thermoplastic can take composites to new heights due to shorter cycle times Repeatability is less of a problem than thermosetting materials.Many years ago we started to look at thermoplastic composites based on UD tapes, which we think are the best forms of materials.'He pointed out that thermosetting composites have also begun Automatically place unidirectional tapes for applications that require the ultimate performance. 'We use our UDMAX tapes to make laminates and sheets, and then shape and mold them into complex components according to customer requirements.' 'Francato said:' This can not be done in low cycles Time, low cost and additional features integrated into the part. '
He continues: "We believe this will result in mass production, enabling the automotive industry to take advantage of the benefits of thermoplastic composites more widely." So cars are one of the goals. "We think the low required for high volume automotive applications Cycle times and types of intercomponent compliance can happen, "said Francato. Other target markets include aerospace, business electronics, commercial vehicles (trucks) and pipelines." Parts have very wide available space, "he said. We were looking for glass and carbon fibers, nylon (polyamide or PA), polypropylene (PP) and polycarbonate (PC) right from the start and were also willing to add high performance polymers such as PEEK (polyetheretherketone) , PEKK (polyether ketone ketone), PEI, (polyetherimide), etc. '
automation
Francato says automating with Airborne and Siemens is key. "We started off automating the material first and buying the FRT in 2016 so that it was not easy to make wide-width tapes of the highest quality at the right speed, but for now we There is a need for high-speed manufacturing of laminates of varying number of layers in different directions. "He said that although many systems are in pilot projects, there is virtually no production." Automation with the overmolding technology of Engel and KraussMaffei has been done More, 'said Francato, but he thinks it is fast and mass-produced equipment is still lacking.' That's why we want to find the right company to work with. Airborne and Siemens have the ability to implement layers for specific end-use products Platen automation. The machines we are assembling will achieve the goal of producing hundreds of thousands to millions of parts per year. '
The on-board approach is flexible enough to meet our needs. "We buy equipment, but also build our own and combined technology. We try not to reinvent it, but to integrate the machine from other innovators. For example, We have studied the paper industry, the cable winding industry, etc. to meet our product manufacturing needs, and we are also developing ATL (automated tape laying) equipment ready to move into an untapped market.
O'Connor said: 'We see the company's productivity is high, but not an advanced material system, and vice versa.' 'Industry leaders must achieve the intersection of machine capabilities, material capabilities and process capabilities.' He said the Siemens belt The sheer volume of digital umbrellas that cover all of these areas combined with their own data to achieve higher levels of performance across the supply chain and process chain.
Zero defect manufacturing
O 'Connor's claim that the Siemens licensed digital production sounds very similar to a zero-defect manufacturing called ZAero. Van Mourik points out that this type of optimization material and process chain is one that people would like to see, : 'The two methods are the same, and we've done this in oil and gas pipelines. When you build a 3kt, 50t heavy high value product you have a hard time producing To abandon it, but you have to cope with material and environmental changes and still be able to produce acceptable products, and to do this we have developed a technology that can be based on advanced manufacturing process models and inlays.
Francato believes that process modeling will do a great job in this area, saying: 'What are the effects of material or connector flaws? We want to be able to make the material adjustments during the flight, however, convincing OEMs that a lot of data is needed. Automated supply chains and process chains can not do that. "Francato notes that a large number of simulation applications are in the injection molding process, but few are working on continuous fiber composites.However, in two years Much has been done in this area before using a UDMAX tape to make a universal composite beam at selected locations. 'I did this in less than a minute and used that part to test and To validate our simulation model, we need to know how a tape transforms to the final part, while also understanding how parts are integrated and shaped.
O 'Connor said the whole process can be digitized by Siemens.' We have in-house developed products and we also have partner help to provide us with some extra features that we might use. '
Flexible production line was first used in the production of cars
Van Mourik also believes that the production line must become so flexible that small series can be run between large series. "The concept of digital manufacturing reconfigured the line to be precise and optimized for each product." The ideal is a small He added: "The consolidation station will be the least flexible, and the joint building blocks will become even more pervasive."
Francato said: 'The production line is not as long as aerospace for automotive and consumer electronics products, so we can have a very sound system from one part to another, from one model to another.' TPC certainly plays an important role in autonomous driving and sensors, he acknowledges, "but TPC plays a very important role in automotive interiors as it requires a great deal of functionality." Compared to traditional materials, The costs can be reduced here and SABIC is an expert in automotive interiors and we believe that working with Airborne and Siemens will help SABIC customers manufacture parts in a very reliable and consistent manner. "
Cost Control
This model of cooperation stands in stark contrast to the fragmented portfolio value chain Van Mourik said of the past. 'In the 1990s, you could spend a lot of money on carbon fiber cloth (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) for use on aircraft because It saves on the weight and performance value offered, but the cost and lead time for converting carbon fiber into aircraft parts is very high, so it is imperative to dramatically reduce costs and time. "
For Airborne, this means that chemical companies like SABIC must be involved. "Because in the past recipes have not always been optimized for the cost-effective production of specific parts, because we are working with SABIC, we can Disclose to material suppliers the goal of increasing material performance or reducing costs, which is unprecedented in the world. "Francato also agreed with the view that 'lightweight production at a reasonable cost.'
Van Mourik said: 'Now, we are optimizing materials and manufacturing processes to fundamentally reduce costs and production cycles in the consumer electronics products, the development of components within two or three years is unacceptable, the actual situation in the market Closer to 6-9 months.
Machine learning speeds up the development of production lines
Van Mourik acknowledged that there is still a lot of work to do to connect all the factors in this digital production line, and he explains: 'We'll try to digitize this process first, and machine learning may work locally, for example only Used in press-forming, but then we connect this partial process to every part of the overall process. "He points out that this is also where Siemens and SABIC work together, for example, 'If the machine tells us to change process settings, Then the material parameters will also be changed, and in the future we want to be able to automatically connect to tape production, but we'll go step by step. '
O 'Connor said:' This is a beginning of our industry 4.0 program and we have the ability to integrate elements throughout the process chain. People make million dollar decisions every day, but often without the support of data and views, it's very much Irrational phenomenon.
"The potential for thermoplastic composites is enormous, and this collaboration will accelerate the development and application of thermoplastic composites," Francato said, adding that the digital production line itself will help shorten the development cycle. "We do not need Do all the analysis yourself. These digitized systems will fill most of the data and details. '
Van Mourik cites an example. "To make the composite manufacturing process error-free, you have to monitor dozens of parameters. Our engineers often notice some of the most understandable and controllable parts. In a production line, we Having determined the windows for the 2-3 key parameters that are acceptable, however, using advanced data analysis throughout the process, we are surprised to find that the alternative combinations of parameters outside of this window are less logical, but in fact they Provided better results. "He pointed out that it took a while for the two chemists to understand why, but now we have a very deep understanding and understanding of the process, as well as performance and efficiency New improvement. '
O 'Connor says:' For a simple example, Siemens Controllers has hundreds of optimization facilities in the factory that make production faster, more flexible and smarter, and the composites industry is at a cutting-edge level that can take advantage of this level of automation and control .
Van Mourik said: 'If we can combine the knowledge of Siemens and SABIC with the results we have already demonstrated in the development of composite parts and processes, then we can succeed in the development of composites and processes and Speeding up in a way that could not be done in the past, we started small but the potential was huge.
Stimulation of the entire industry
Francato said: 'We want to make it possible for our customers to take full advantage of these continuous fiber thermoplastics and bring new solutions faster than ever before.' 'He believes that due to the reduction of carbon emissions and energy use Demand is growing and there is a growing opportunity for composite development. 'Consider the size and experience of these three partners, and we can inspire other players in this market to get more involved, so far this market is still too small. '