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“Already when Cevotec officially joined the FPC at JEC World 2019, it was clear that a Fiber Patch Placement (FPP) system will be installed in the FPC to provide our partners and customers with a complete portfolio of the latest technologies and developments for the next generation of composite manufacturing,” says Hannah Paulus, Head of Fiber Placement Center at SGL Carbon. “The new SAMBA Pro Prepreg System from Cevotec offers many advantages for the production of complex shaped components with short cycle times”. Cevotec, together with its partner Baumann Automation, have commissioned the SAMBA Pro Prepreg production cell in Meitingen since November 2020. It is now ready for operation and the first application development projects have already been started.

The SAMBA Pro Prepreg system in Meitingen is an advancement of the FPP system presented in 2017 at the JEC World in Paris. “In order to ensure maximum flexibility in terms of geometry and patch edges, a laser cutting unit was installed also in this system,” reports Felix Michl, CTO of Cevotec. “The entire material feed is temperature-controlled, so that the pre-impregnated materials can be processed in a controlled environment.” The robots in the system are the well-known and proven pair of TP80 pick-and-place robot and the TX200 tool manipulator from Stäubli. “This configuration enables us to ensure a high lay-up frequency combined with a very high positioning accuracy, allowing for a fully automated lay-up of complex geometries of medium to small dimensions,” explains Michl. In addition, the vision system, the machine vision quality control system for material quality and placement accuracy, has been fundamentally revised by Cevotec and now offers extended set-up options to adapt the system to different materials.

“We look forward to further developing the FPP technology together with our FPC partners and to opening up new fields of application”, states Thorsten Groene, Managing director of Cevotec. “Within the context of the FPC, the production system serves interested industrial companies from various sectors for active technology and application development, together with the researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute.” „It is really exciting for Fraunhofer IGCV to have the SAMBA Pro Prepreg put to operation at the FPC”, agrees Dr. Renato Bezerra, research associate at Fraunhofer IGCV. “This placement machine for fiber patches was designed according to the latest state of the art for processing dry fiber and prepreg material. It perfectly complements our portfolio of placement technologies and expands our scope of research and development services.”

Prior to the installation of the system, SGL Carbon also entered into a development partnership with Cevotec. The aim is to develop innovative applications based on SGL TowPreg and using the SAMBA systems. “The SGL TowPreg tape harmonizes perfectly with our system”, reports Felix Michl, “We expect very interesting development projects, for example in the green mobility sector, aviation and medical technology”. In general, the SAMBA Pro system covers a wide range of different fiber materials that can be processed automatically for different industries.

“The FPP technology can now prove itself in direct competition with different technologies in the FPC,” Michl concludes. “Interested customers can select the optimal technology for their specific application from the technologies available in FPC, which cover the entire spectrum of automated fiber placement. This is real value added for all manufacturers looking for innovative manufacturing solutions”.

About Fraunhofer IGCV:

Fraunhofer IGCV stands for application-driven research with focus on efficient engineering, networked production and smart multi-material solutions. The institute drives innovation on the level of manufacturing processes and material sciences, machines and process chains as well as factory and enterprise networks.

In an effort to transfer knowledge from research and development into industrial applications, approx. 120 scientists generate individual solutions for the German industry. Our unique selling proposition lies in interdisciplinary solutions in the fields of casting, composite and processing technology. As part of the Fraunhofer Group for Production – an association of production technology institutes –, we support our partners with short-term, mid-term and long-term research projects. Thus, we contribute to ensuring a sustainable competitive edge in Germany and Europe.

Further information on Fraunhofer IGCV can be found at www.igcv.fraunhofer.de.

About SGL Carbon

SGL Carbon is a technology-based company and world leader in the development and production of carbon-based solutions. Its high-quality materials and products made from specialty graphite and composites are used in industrial sectors that determine the future: automotive, aerospace, solar and wind energy, semiconductor and LEDs as well as in the production of lithium-ion batteries, fuel cell and other energy storage systems. In addition, SGL Carbon develops solutions for chemical and industrial applications.

In 2019, SGL Carbon SE generated sales of around 1.1 billion euros. The company has approx. 5,100 employees at 31 locations in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Materials, products and solutions from SGL Carbon are embedded in the major topics of the future: sustainable mobility, new energies and cross-industry digitization. Further developments in these areas demand more intelligent, more efficient, networked and sustainable solutions. This is where the entrepreneurial vision of SGL Carbon evolves around: contributing to a smarter world.

Further information on SGL Carbon can be found at www.sglcarbon.com/press.

About Fiber Placement Center:

The Fiber Placement Center is a cooperation between SGL Carbon, Fraunhofer IGCV, BA Composites, Cevotec, Compositence and Coriolis Composites. The development and production center, which is located at SGL’s Meitingen facility and a further location in Augsburg, offers its customers the opportunity to gain experience with the state-of-the-art fiber placement technology and to produce prototypes on an area of over 500 m² with various equipment.

Further information on Fiber Placement Center can be found at: https://www.fiberplacementcenter.com/

About Baumann:

Baumann develops and produces turn-key automation systems for customers from various international industries including the automotive suppliers, electronics and domestic appliances. Everything from a single source − from a stand alone robot cell to a fully automated production line. Future-oriented tasks such as autonomous driving, e-mobility, digitization or Industry 4.0 are the focus of Baumann’s work. Thanks to extensive cooperation with many customers, Baumann Automation is able to offer flexible, scalable and agile basic platforms. Clients have a wide choice of manufacturing methods, assembly systems, handling solutions and test systems, which, due to the modular design principle, can be integrated easily into production lines.

Today, the family-owned company employs over 760 people worldwide. Service centers in China, Romania, Taiwan, the Philippines, the USA and Mexico ensure customer proximity worldwide. More than 6,000 robot cells and production plants are in use worldwide by customers in 22 countries. With an annual turnover of 90 million euros and an office and production area of ​​more than 20,000 square meters, Baumann Automation sets up for the future.

Further information on Baumann Automation can be found at https://www.baumann-automation.com/

Picture description:

After the successful installation of Cevotec’s SAMBA Pro Prepreg in the FPC: from left to right
Martin Lehmeier, Programmer, Baumann GmbH,
Matthias Durant, Process Engineer, Fiber Placement Center
Hannah Paulus, Head of Fiber Placement Center
Florian Jennemann, Fiber Placement & Composite Moulding, Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV
Dr.-Ing. Renato Bezerra, CFRP manufacturing processes, Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV
Michael Wanner, Process Technician, Lightweight and Application Center SGL Carbon