A Novel Approach to Improving Cost-Effective

Production of Advanced Composite Structures in

High Volume
Presented at the 4th Annual Society of Plastics Engineers Automotive
Composites Conference
14 September 2004

David Cramer
Vice President
[email protected]
(970) 945-9377 x122

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 1

 Fiberforge
» Our Focus
> Developing the most cost-effective manufacturing solutions for
advanced composite structures produced in high volume

» Our Goal
> Bodies-in-Black™ in high volume

» History
> Founded in 1999
> Initial work focused on lightweight vehicle design
> Since 2002, the Company has focused exclusively on the
development and commercialization of its composite manufacturing
technology

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 3

 Numerous hurdles face advanced composites for
automotive applications

» Raw materials cost

» Volatility of price and availability of carbon fiber
» Availability of proven high-volume capable processing techniques
» Predictive engineering capabilities for processing and failure
» Design know-how and industry familiarity
» Standards
» Etc.

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 4

 Advanced composites in automobiles
» Semi-structural applications abound
> Advantages of part integration, light weight, system cost savings,
design flexibility, improved mechanical performance

» Currently, advanced composites are used by

“innovators” and “early adopters” for niche
applications
> Superior performance (stiffness, light weight)
> High material cost and processing cost
> Building familiarity with materials among engineers and
customers
» Industry must build on those successes, expanded
niches with new approaches to processing that are
designed for higher volumes without sacrificing the
performance benefits inherent in the material

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 5

 What is the Fiberforge Process?
» Thermoplastic composite sheet forming process that uses
“tailored blanks”
> Step 1: Automated lay-up of tailored blank
> Step 2: Consolidation of tailored blank
> Step 3: Thermoplastic stamping
> Step 4: Trim
» Targets main cost and performance drivers
> Materials cost
> Raw materials, in-process scrap, efficient use of materials by tailoring the laminate to the
load paths in a part
> Manufacturing cost
> High material throughput during creation of tailored blank, short cycle time for final
processing, high levels of automation
> Structural performance
> Continuous or long-discontinuous fibers, high fiber volume fraction, tailored orientation

» Fiberforge process is flexible

> Many reinforcements, thermoplastic matrices, and even thermoset-based
composites could be processed
© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 6
Image sources: C2 Composites, Radius Engineering, Cincinnati Machine
 What is a tailored blank?
» Flat, semi-consolidated laminate
» Precise fiber orientation in each ply
» Fiber orientation is tailored to part-specific loading
» Multiple fiber types and volume fractions possible
within a part
» Shape tailored to part geometry
» Variable thickness

8 plies (1 mm) 10 plies (1.25 mm)

12 plies (1.5 mm)

16 plies (2 mm)
© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 14 plies (1.75 mm) 7
 Automated lay-up of a tailored blank
» Starts with raw materials, combining fiber
and matrix material in line
» Intermittent lay-up
» Tacks strips of material together
» Rapid material deposition

Fiberforge prototype manufacturing cell

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 8

 Stamping

» Heat blank in infrared oven

» Shuttle into tool and press
» Close press to form and cool part
» Less than 90-second cycle time

Fiberforge thermoforming press, pictured

• 1-m x 1-m working area
• 810-mm daylight
• 400-ton pressure
• 100-kW infrared oven, 60-kW tool heating
• Automated blank shuttle system
• Air-water mist cooling
© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 9
 Many process variants are possible

» Using various starting materials

» High-volume and low-volume equipment configurations
of the tailored blank fabrication equipment
» Hybrid manufacturing processes (illustrated)

Tailored blank

Stamp blank

Source: EPFL
© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 10
 Performance
90 1.8
Specific modulus
80 1.6
Specific strength
70 1.4

Specific Strength (#/")

Specific Modulus (!/")

60 1.2

50 1.0

40 0.8

30 0.6

20 0.4

10 0.2

0 0.0
l )
ee nu
m b on on
)
on
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) MC glass glass b on PP
St m i
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Alu onal n & n & fibe ch - fib ppe
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ppe
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e dc 9 05
ti o o % m s s o o pp 1-
irec carb carb (55 ando Gla %
ch
%
ch c ho (1/
id i i C r 0 0 x
un un az SM iber, /3 /6 50
% Te
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5 (5 % o n n w t
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© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 12
 Starting materials: fibers

» Carbon, glass, or other fibers: large-tow fiber possible

> Continuous
> Long-discontinuous fiber

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. Schappe Technique13

 Starting materials: matrix
» Many factors to consider when choosing matrix
> Fiberforge baseline materials are grades of polyamide
Multi-criteria comparison
Cost
(weight basis)

Thermal performance
Cost ASTM D 4065
Creep
worse (volume basis)
PA 6/12 90 °C

PC/PBT
better PA 12

Tm Density
PA 6/12-LT

PA 6/12-LT2

Moisture
Tg
absorption

PP
PBT
PA12
PA6
HDT Tensile Strength
PA 6/12
PPS
Tensile Modulus

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 14

 Benefits of thermoplastics

» Rapid processing
> < 1-min cycle time potential
> Non-reactive during part processing

» Crash energy absorption

> > 2x specific energy absorption compared
with thermosets

» More easily recyclable

> LFRT feedstock

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. Image source: DaimlerChrysler AG 15

 “Graceful” failure of thermoplastic composites

spike
soft

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 16

 Application case study:
Spare wheel well
» Collaborative investigation with Dr. Martyn Wakeman at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausane
» Comparison of part cost with several thermoplastic composite starting materials
> Fiberforge tailored blank (carbon fiber & glass fiber)
> Thermoplastic prepreg sheet (carbon fiber & glass fiber)
> Twintex™
> GMTex™
» Main cost drivers investigated
> Materials, equipment, labor, facilities cost
> In-process scrap
> Carbon fiber vs. glass fiber
> Tailored blank fabrication speed
> Dedicated vs. utilized manufacturing
> Production volume
» Factors not considered in this analysis
> Optimization of tailored blank shape
> Structural optimization and refinement of laminate architecture
> Individualized weight savings based on product requirements

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 17

 Baseline assumptions

» General
> Parts produced annually: 20,000, 40,000, and 60,000 parts per year
> Five years of production, 1–3 shifts considered
> Indirect to direct labor ratio 60%
> Interest rate on capital: 7.5%
> Compound reject rate: 2%

» Material prices
> Carbon fiber: $17.25/kg ($7.83/lb)
> Glass fiber: $1.90/kg ($0.86/lb)
> Nylon matrix: $3.52/kg ($1.60/lb)

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 19

 Spare wheel well design
» Part characteristics & assumptions
> 2.5 mm thick
> 3-kg mass with carbon fiber, 4-kg mass with glass fiber
> Quasi-isotropic lay-up
> 50% fiber volume fraction
> Polyamide matrix
» Baseline mass savings relative to steel
> 50% mass savings for carbon-fiber parts
> 35% mass savings for glass-fiber parts
» Producible with in-house production equipment

0.83 m

0.23 m

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 20

 Tailored blank design

0.97 m

1m

35-mm bandwidth 75-mm bandwidth 150-mm bandwidth

scrap = 4% scrap = 8.5% scrap = 11.7%

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 21

 Plant layout for Fiberforge process

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. Image Source: EPFL 22

 Scrap for preimpregnated sheet

Smallest rectilinear Perimeter blank holder

surface—scrap = 16% scrap = 33%
© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 25
 Cost per part, $

20
40
60
80
100
120
140

0
CF/PA66,

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc.

16%-rcy

CF/PA66-
FC, 16%-
rcy

CF/PA12,
16%-rcy

Util, 60k/yr
GF/PA6,
16%-rcy

GF/PP,
16%

GMTex

Ded, 60k/yr GMCTex

Cost summary

Steel

Fiberforge
CF/PA6-12

Fiberforge
GF/PA6-12
weight, kg
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Weight, (kg)
33
 Next steps in cost analysis

» Investigate overall process economics relative to other processing

techniques and materials for specific parts
> Three parts to be chosen that bracket processing potential (hybrid molding, SMC,
GMT, sheet thermoforming, steel stamping, aluminum stamping)

Hybrid molding
Oriented glass- Primary structure
fiber composite

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 36

 Conclusion

» Tailored blanks are cost-competitive with similar starting materials

» Opportunity to further reduce cost by optimizing the fiber lay-up
» Tailored blank technology offers advantages to both glass-fiber and
carbon-fiber composites
» Hybrid molding promising; tailored blanks could play a strong role
» Materials cost dominates, but significant opportunities for further
cost reduction in processing techniques

© 2004 Fiberforge, Inc. 37