High-Rate Composite Preform Automation Becomes a Reality

For aerospace manufacturers targeting the next generation of aircraft production, accelerating the rate of composite structure production while maintaining strict quality standards presents a major challenge. It is precisely this challenge that drove Loop Technology to develop FibreLINE, an advanced automated composite preform manufacturing system supported by FANUC heavy-payload industrial robots.

FibreLINE is dedicated to the production of primary aerospace composite structures. Central to the system is FibreFORM, an active pick-and-place conformal end effector. FibreFORM is capable of handling large composite plies more than 20 m in length and placing them accurately on to complex 3D double-curvature profiles at high speed. 

However, while the composite material itself is lightweight, the end effector is both large and heavy. The company therefore required robots that were capable of manipulating heavy loads over a wide volumetric area. For Loop Technology, the FANUC M-2000 series proved the ideal solution.

Ross Horrigan, Technical Director at Loop Technology, adds: “Our only other option was to build a custom gantry every time. In comparison, the use of FANUC robots allows us to be far more cost-competitive with our FibreLINE offer.”

Unlike gantry systems, which would restrict access within the manufacturing cell, the FANUC robots operate on a single-axis rail configuration that provides improved accessibility and greater flexibility for deposition and inspection operations.

Precision remains critical throughout the process. Composite aircraft structures demand extremely tight tolerances while handling delicate materials that can easily distort during manufacturing.

“Structures that fly require verified quality standards to control the build,” says Reece. “They need to be within production tolerances. And those tolerances are tight.”

To meet these requirements, Loop Technology combines the rigidity and accuracy of its FANUC robots with advanced technologies that include vision guidance and photogrammetry.

“We’re now pushing towards ±1 mm tolerance, even on big structures,” he states. 

The productivity gains are also significant.