Project coordinator Dr Rosemary Gault, from the AMRC, explains: “REFORM focused on four areas – forming, machining, assembly and recycling – to make sure gains made in one area did not lead to waste and inefficiency elsewhere.
“The project has created a series of new technologies and techniques that are ready to be introduced by industry and could make a significant contribution to cutting the cost and environmental impact of the growing use of composites.”
In the area of forming, the use of laser-assisted tape lay-up and augmented reality led to significant reductions in energy requirements, scrap, time and labour costs. As a result, lay-up systems with advanced control are now being made available to composite manufacturers.
On waterjet machining of components, the project saw up to a 95% recovery of water and abrasives, a reduction of up to 75% in on-machine and part delivery times, and less scrap. New recycling, cutting head, positioning and fixturing systems will be made available to industry, along with a novel waterjet nozzle that could double cutting speeds for the same energy input.
In the assembly area, benefits are the development of modular, lightweight, reconfigurable composite fixturing and tooling. Manufacturing time for new tooling was reduced by around 70% and slashed tooling costs by 90% and more. This also led to a reduction in production ramp-up and cycle times.
And in a link to fixturing, it is now possible to recycle scrap material and turn it into boards that can be used to make parts, new tooling, replacements for fixtures or for any application where flat boards and assemblies are required.
Finally, work on methods for recycling laminates and fibres succeeded in producing material using up to 80% less energy at about a fifth of the cost of virgin fibre.
Nine companies from five countries and four research organisations from different countries took part in the project, funded by the EU’s 7th Framework Factory of the Future Programme and sparked by the increasing use of fibre-reinforced composites to replace metals in the transport and construction industries.
