Teijin Automotive Technologies’ advanced preforming carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) process today was honored as a runner up in the Altair Enlighten Awards. The awards, which honor sustainability and lightweighting advancements that successfully reduce carbon footprint, mitigate water and energy consumption, and leverage material reuse and recycling efforts, are presented annually in conjunction with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management Briefing Seminars.
Developed by our team in Pouancé, France, and used as part of the production of a high performance vehicle door, Teijin Automotive’s fully automated preforming process enables the serial use of lightweight carbon fiber by allowing the quick and precise production of a door inner out of CFRP.
Previous methods of processing carbon fiber preforms for use in automotive applications were time consuming and labor intensive. Initial concepts of this component required significant amounts of hand-layup work. To meet production demands, the team had to develop a method to produce the component more efficiently.
The result is an innovative, automated preforming process to produce complex layering. This process leads to a reduction in the amount of carbon fiber used while still achieving crash performance requirements. The use of various vision systems allows high precision adjustments of the robot hand effectors at all stages of the process.
Compared to a standard prepreg production, required labor is over 20 times less. Full automation is also ensures high productivity and optimum performance (complex design) while the vision systems enables the highest quality level required for a safe part. This process also results in mass savings. First, the door inner is made from carbon fiber, which is extremely lightweight in nature, and the precise nature of the process enables optimizes the amount of material used.
This process was previously named a runner up in the JEC Innovation Awards earlier this year at JEC World in Paris, France.
SOURCE: Teijin
