In-situ Consolidation of Thermoplastic Composites for Next-Generation Aerospace Structures

After more than 30 years of development, additive manufacturing has finally gained the attention it deserves. Composite manufacturing has followed a similar trajectory, and the time has finally arrived for the two technologies to converge for the next generation of high-performance composite structures. The Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 have established the necessity of composite materials in commercial aviation, but the manufacturing technology must also evolve to meet economic constraints. We are finally at a tipping point and in-situ consolidation (ISC) is the obvious choice to enable “printing” of high-performance composite structures such as commercial aircraft. 

Primary Topics: 
1) Additive Manufacturing of high-performance composite structures 
2) In-situ consolidation of thermoplastic composites 
3) Aerospace composite manufacturing 
4) The future of composites manufacturing 

Presenter: David Hauber 
Mr. Hauber is one of the original inventors of additive manufacturing (AM) and AM of high-performance composite structures, now known as ISC. His educational background in physics and EE led to work in advanced automation and robotics at RPI’s Center for Automation Technologies and Systems in the early 1980s. Applying robotics to the fabrication of advanced composites led to a spinoff called Automated Dynamics. Mr. Hauber recognized the importance of thermoplastic composites and began developing ISC in the mid-1980s. ISC remains our focus and Automated Dynamics currently sells ISC workcells and manufactures thousands of products every year using ISC.