A case study on the capability of rapid tooling thermoplastic laminating moulds for manufacturing of CFRP components in autoclaves

Additive manufacturing (AM) is most used in prototype production and other processes upstream of series production. However, in recent years additive manufacturing has also moved into series production environments substituting for established systems. With AM, it is possible to improve production in terms of material consumption, manufacturing costs, and lightweight design. Accordingly, it is possible to create complexly arched laminating moulds directly from the CAD-model instead of milling them from solid material as is frequently done for the production of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) components in autoclaves. This work analyses the potential of CFRP-laminating moulds as rapid tooling moulds generated by fused deposition modeling. A rounded cuboid will be considered with different reinforcement patterns as well as various wall thicknesses. Normal autoclave conditions will be simulated with pressure variation and high temperature stress varying over time. In conclusion, the results prove the capability of rapid tooling thermoplastic laminating moulds for manufacturing CFRP components in autoclaves. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.