Lower costs in CFRP parts production

The optimization of the process, through the integration of three anthropomorphic robots to obtain a fully-automatic line, was aimed to achieve a low part-to-part cycle time. This, combined with its intrinsic requirement for a lower compression force in the part forming phase, which above all results in a reduced capital investment, positions this process as a very competitive substitute for traditional HP-RTM in the automotive field, providing a lower part cost to the manufacturer.

Several innovative Cannon technologies are wisely combined in this solution: from the high-pressure Estrim metering unit and mixing head, for proper dosing of the two-component epoxy resin, to a specifically designed air-less distribution die for uniform distribution, with laminar flow, of the resin-hardener mix directly onto the reinforcement carbon fibre stack outside of the mould. Alongside these, a large size hot press with accurate parallelism control (for part forming), and a low-tonnage cold press (for controlled cooling of parts) have also been designed and supplied by Cannon.

A stable process with high output and high quality has thus been developed and successfully installed.