EADS and Oxeon JEC Innovation Award finalists

A new fibre-patch preforming (FPP) technology presented by EADS Innovation Works with its partners Oxeon AB and Manz Automation Tübingen GmbH has been announced as finalists for the JEC Innovation Awards 2011 in the Automation category. Oxeon has supplied EADS with their Spread Tow Tapes.

FPP makes the production of highly advanced CFRP components possible. These components can have optimal light weight design and are fully automated produced. Especially for stiffener profiles it’s possible to have a wasteless production. With small amounts of FPP material great stiffness can be achieved.

The relative new developed fiber-patch-preforming-technology allows to position centimeter fibers made from Oxeon’s TeXero® Spread Tow Tapes according to nearly any specification. A special robot gives free choice in position and orientation of the fibers during preforming. The preforms are easy to use in standard infiltration processes and can be combined with other preform types. Quality assurance, waste prevention and health protection were considered for the development of a machine prototype. With this new technology an automated preform production from a software lay-up plan is possible.

The JEC Innovation Awards have been running since 1998 and every year reward the best composites innovations in terms of technical interest, commercial potential, partners, financial impact and originality.

About EADS

The EADS Innovation Works are the corporate research facilities of EADS, with sites in Germany, France, Spain, Singapore and Russia. They provide world-class capabilities in aeronautics, defence and space research topics consistent with the EADS research & technology strategy. The Composite Technologies Department (IW-CT) has long year experience in the manufacturing and testing of textile preformed composites for structural applications. Special experience exists in the development of netshaped textile preform technologies (e.g.braiding) and resin infiltration techniques for CFRP parts with complex geometry.