Robotic Tufting and Z-Pinning
Composites are the materials of choice for aerospace applications due to their excellent mechanical and other properties. However due to their laminar construction they have poor out-of-plane characteristics. Tufting is a technique wherein a reinforcement in the form of twisted yarn is inserted into composite layers to improve the out-of-plane properties like delamination resistance and delamination growth of composite structures. This would also help to improve the interface joint strength in cocured composites. Z-pinning is a through-thickness reinforcement technology, which increases delamination resistance, post impact toughness and joint strength of composites. Robot controlled automated Z-pinning/Tufting head aids in orthogonal insertion of Z-pins in the composite prepreg material or twisted into composite layers.
Specifications:
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6 Independent axes movement with velocity up to 2m/s
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150Kg pay load with 3m arm reach
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Accuracy up to ±0.2mm (200µ)
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Robot flange can receive different end effectors