Robot-assisted conformal additive manufacturing for continuous fibre-reinforced grid-stiffened shell structures

Zhang，Guoquan1; Wang，Yaohui1; Chen，Ziwen1; Xu，Xuguang1; Dong，Ke2; Xiong，Yi1

2023

10.1080/17452759.2023.2203695

Virtual and Physical Prototyping   影响因子和分区

1745-2759

1745-2767

The advents in continuous fibre-reinforced polymer additive manufacturing (CFRP-AM) present unprecedented opportunities for the rapid development of next-generation high-performance composites with selectively and spatially distributed reinforcement. However, the widely adopted 3-degree-of-freedom motion configuration in current CFRP-AM systems hinders the exploration of composite structures with non-planar fibre layouts. This work presents a novel conformal CFRP-AM system to fabricate grid-stiffened shell structures leveraging its multi-DoF motion to pattern spatial features. The system integrates a 6-axis robot with an optimally designed co-extrusion module and operates through a design-to-manufacturing workflow. The proposed workflow includes three steps: system calibration, conformal toolpath generation, and process implementation. The conformal toolpath generation is a surface-mapping-based method that allows a simultaneous exploration of various geometric designs and their toolpaths. Experimental comparisons were made between parts fabricated by different processes, i.e., planar and conformal based, with different toolpaths, i.e., shells filled with zigzag and arc-offset patterns, and with various geometric designs, i.e., stiffener ribs with different crossline angles. The results manifest that the proposed system can significantly improve the compression strength and stiffness of grid-stiffened shell structures. Meanwhile, the additional design freedom on process and structure opens up a new possibility to customise their mechanical performance.

continuous fibre-reinforced polymer additive manufacturing grid-stiffened shell structure Robotic system surface conformal toolpath

SCI ; EI

英语

第一 ; 通讯

National Key Research and Development Program of China[2021YFB1715400];National Natural Science Foundation of China[52105261];

Engineering ; Materials Science

Engineering, Manufacturing ; Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

WOS:000980180800001

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

20232114128921

3D printing ; Additives ; Conformal mapping ; Fiber reinforced plastics ; Fibers ; Machine design

Structural Members and Shapes:408.2 ; Mechanical Design:601 ; Printing Equipment:745.1.1 ; Chemical Agents and Basic Industrial Chemicals:803

2-s2.0-85159688491

Scopus

1.School of System Design and Intelligent Manufacturing,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,Guangdong,China
2.Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering,The Hong Kong Polytechnic University,Kowloon,Hong Kong

Zhang，Guoquan,Wang，Yaohui,Chen，Ziwen,et al. Robot-assisted conformal additive manufacturing for continuous fibre-reinforced grid-stiffened shell structures[J]. Virtual and Physical Prototyping,2023,18(1).

Zhang，Guoquan,Wang，Yaohui,Chen，Ziwen,Xu，Xuguang,Dong，Ke,&Xiong，Yi.(2023).Robot-assisted conformal additive manufacturing for continuous fibre-reinforced grid-stiffened shell structures.Virtual and Physical Prototyping,18(1).

Zhang，Guoquan,et al."Robot-assisted conformal additive manufacturing for continuous fibre-reinforced grid-stiffened shell structures".Virtual and Physical Prototyping 18.1(2023).