Source | Loop Technology
At the Loop Technology (Dorchester, Bristol and Sheffield, U.K.) booth, attendees are able to see its FibreForm and Bravura robotic systems in action.
FibreForm is a 3D conformal pick-and-place end effector that is used to manufacture composite components including aerostructures such as wing skins, nacelles, fairings and wing tips, at a “breakthrough new rate for industry,” according to Loop. The configuration of FibreForm on display is integrated with a FANUC Europe (Echternach, Luxembourg) M-950. It is designed for ultra high-rate precision layup of smaller carbon fiber plies than other FibreForm systems, such as those installed at the National Composites Centre (NCC) and the COMPASS facility in Sheffield.
A system of this size can be integrated as constituent part of a FibreLine 2×1 cell to produce smaller carbon fiber composite structures such as automotive panels, defense drones and aircraft wing tips. A FibreLine 2×1 cell allows for multiple end effectors to be manipulated by one robot. If production volumes scale in excess of the throughput of the cell, additional robots can be added with the existing tool set in order to increase production volumes without the need for extensive requalification.
Bravura brings automation into confined spaces that were traditionally inaccessible to robots, delivering sealing, swaging and inspection tasks with high levels of precision, speed and safety. Bravura is a seven-axis, robotically controlled articulated positioner that can automate sub-assembly operations such as sealing and inspection within aircraft wing boxes, as well as many other small and restricted areas. It has infinite rotation, never hitting an axis limit when maneuvering. It uses custom configured frameless servo motors, paired with high ratio harmonic gearboxes that result in high power density drive units.
The low overall weight is achieved with aluminum construction, and it is powered by CyberDrive, Loop Technology’s state-of-the-art software solution that leverages path planning algorithms to automatically optimize the robot pose along an ideal guideline into and out of an aperture.
Visit Loop Technology at Booth Q112 in Hall 5, located near its partners at Zünd Systemtechnik AG (Booth S57, Hall 5).
