Preforming technologies
The demand for innovative lightweight construction materials based on high-performance fibers with specific mechanical properties is increasing in automotive as well as aeronautical engineering. Extensive research and development demand has been voiced regarding the development and realization of solutions allowing the establishment of fiber-reinforced plastic composites (FRPC) in industrial, large-series applications.
One crucial challenge with that idea is the shaping on textiles structures to provide function- and process-adapted textile preforms in shapes matching the component geometry. One aim is to simplify or avoid currently enormously costly sub-processes like cutting and draping. Depending on the component complexity, up to 60 % of current costs are caused by such sub-processes. This is due to the often extensive manual labor required, and to the produced waste, which can be up to 40 % of the total material used.
Generally, preforming is classified into sequential and direct preforming. In sequential preforming, a fabric is shaped according to the desired component geometry immediately or after a necessary cutting. Depending on the process and the textile structure, single or multiple layers of the textile structures are processed at the same time. To ensure good manageability of the preforms up to component production, suitable fixation steps (thermal or mechanical) have to be taken. Another approach is presented by direct preforming, for which the desired preform geometry is achieved by a specific thread arrangement during production. Direct preforming allows a material-efficient production of preforms with minimized draping efforts.
The two chairs of the ITM (Textile Technology and Ready-made Technology) have enough expertise and technological equipment to develop and realize processes, technologies, and textile structures adapted to individual production technologies and product requirements. These are explained in more details on the following sites: