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Schedule

11:00-11:15 am

Welcome, introduction

• , editor-in-chief, ��ñ����

11:15-11:45 am

Robot-based Continuous Ultrasonic Welding for Automated Production of Aerospace Components

• , Head of Assembly & Joining Technologies,

• The Centre for Lightweight Production Technology (ZLP) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is working together with the industry to develop automation solutions for the aerospace industry. In recent years, great progress has been made in the use of welding processes in various projects. In project MFFD (together with Airbus, Premium Aerotec, Aernnova), robot-based continuous ultrasonic welding was used for the first time worldwide to automatically integrate 8m long stringers. In the project Small Teams together with the National Research Council Canada (NRC), dual-robot ultrasonic welding was developed and successfully demonstrated.

11:45 am-12:15 pm

Enabling Continuous Ultrasonic Welding of Themoplastic Composites

• , President,

• Agile Ultrasonics designs and builds robot agnostic end effectors that enable continuous ultrasonic welding (CUW) of thermoplastic (TP) composites without the need for energy directors or film layer inserts. Agile’s novel approach can be adapted to weld, shape, debulk, cut or seal diverse thermoplastic materials associated with aerospace, industrial and consumer applications.

12:15-1:00 pm

BREAK

1:00-1:30 pm

Gap Fill Bonding

• , Technical Support Specialist,
• A common challenge when bonding complex composite structures is joining different materials with different geometries and filling the space between them. Selecting an adhesive can be challenging due to the propensity of many adhesives to boil at large gaps. IPS Adhesives is at the forefront in identifying and addressing this challenge and is ready to discuss the types of gaps often found, how adhesives are tested for gap filling properties, when to be concerned about boiling, and how application and environmental temperatures factor into the adhesive selection process. A newly released adhesive will be discussed, with gap filling capabilities up to 150mm without boiling.

1:30-2:00 pm

Non-Thermal Plasma Enhanced Bonding of Composites

• , Business Development Manager,
• , PhD, Senior Applications Engineer,
• Atmospheric and low pressure plasma offers a non-destructive alternative to manual bond prep for the removal of organic contaminants and mold releases. This method of cleaning and activation is a versatile surface preparation for thermosets, thermoplastics, metals, and metal alloys that enables, stronger and more reliable adhesion between like and dissimilar materials. In addition, jet based plasma polymerization coatings provide excellent bond line anti-corrosion properties and adhesion promotion. Coatings deposited via atmospheric pressure plasma, are an environmentally friendly manufacturing technology applicable to the automotive and aerospace industries.

2:00-2:30 pm

BREAK

2:30-3:00 pm

Influence of Welding Processes, Faying Surface Orientation, and Resin Film on the Mechanical Properties for a Single Lap Joint.

• Alan J. Austin, Advanced Product Development & Research, R&T, Thermoplastic Composites, .
• In this study of welding methods for carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites, this presentation reviews the lap shear strength and the interlaminar shear strength of a welded single lap joint. This study utilizes Solvay PAEK Ultra press-consolidated panels and compares three welding methods, Co-Fusion, autoclave, and induction welding. Another parameter studied was the influence of the faying surface with similar and dissimilar faying surface orientation and the impact on the mechanical properties and failure modes. The final parameter that was studied was the influence of neat PEKK resin-film (0.004” thick) in the weld line. Two different weld line thicknesses were tested by placing one and three neat resin films in the bond line, effectively increasing the weld line thickness. Photo microscopy and non-destructive inspection (NDI) were implemented to help further characterize and interpret the mechanical results.

3:00-3:30 pm

Certification approach for welded thermoplastic composite assemblies

• , Ph.D., Principal Research Engineer, Thermoplastic Composites,
• Next generation single aisle (NGSA) aircraft require significant improvements upon current materials and processes to improve production rate and reduce cost. Thermoplastic composites are a promising class of materials for the NGSA due to their ability to be melt processed at high rates. A key benefit of thermoplastic composites is their ability to be rapidly assembled using welding techniques. Welded joints in thermoplastic composite (TPC) primary structure offer potential performance enhancement over mechanical joints. However, the aerospace industry has limited experience with certifying welded thermoplastic composite structure. This presentation will discuss common myths and misconceptions about welding and our proposed TPC welding certification philosophy and framework.