Modular, upgradeable, automated composites manufacturing equipment

Mikrosam (Prilep, Macedonia) is presenting a range of its automation composites manufacturing equipment, including an upgraded towpreg production line, modular and upgradeable automated fiber placement (AFP) and automated tape laying (ATL) cells and automated filament winding lines.

Recently the company commissioned what it claims is the largest, upgradeable towpreg production lines for filament winding applications. The system offers a number of benefits, such as accurate calibration of towpreg resin content, cost savings and the ability to produce a range of towpreg widths, speeding up production. It is used for impregnating carbon fibers with resin and then cooled quickly before it is rewound on spools, producing thermoset epoxy resin-based towpreg materials in small and medium volumes.

To enable the production of high-quality towpreg, Mikrosam designed a modular line with various equipment units integrated into one production cell. It includes a fiber creel, fiber spreading and calibration unit, an impregnating unit with heating, post-impregnation, cooling and pull-out, a prepreg tow rewinding station and a quality control system (QCS).

According to Mikrosam, the towpreg line is unique in that it’s designed around two separate methods or units for fast towpreg impregnation with the ability to further modify the units or add a completely separate impregnation unit. This feature enables customer to adjust the towpreg production depending on the fiber and resin combination.

Mikrosam also offers modular and upgradeable AFP and ATL cells. Available features include multi-material AFP using thermoset, thermoplastic and dry fiber; automated head exchange in less than 3 min; robotic, gantry or hybrid configurations; in-process layup inspection systems (IPLIS); and thermoplastic consolidation capability.

In addition, the company delivers advanced automated filament winding lines for liquiefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG), hydrogen and other high-pressure vessels, with a capacity of more than 1 million per year. Available offerings include liner loading stations; automatic handling of parts; filament winding machines with high speed, high reliability and low total cost of ownership (TCO); patented automatic cut-and-restart systems; quick-clean resin baths with automatic resin mixing systems; advanced fiber creels with tension control and fast spool exchange; and the TCON top-level control system for supervision and quality control. Mikrosam says it also provides automation and integration with third-party equipment for entire production lines.