Waste reduction in compression moulded thermoplastic laminates using digital manufacturing.

There is continued growth in compression moulded continuous fibre thermoplastic composite parts, particularly within emerging composite sectors. Further growth has been limited however by the current high waste percentages seen in many pre-preg processes often operating at 30-50% waste. These high waste percentages, while accommodated in high-value manufacturing, cannot economically be translated to mass manufactured components. The integration of digital simulation and manufacture techniques into the laminate design and optimisation process is proposed to exploit advances in high performance digital computing to improve product design efficiencies leading to waste reductions. The proposed process uses Siemens Fibersim composite manufacturing software to develop a laminate Digital Twin. Optimisation iterations are then applied to the Digital Twin and assessed for improvements in manufacturing efficiencies. The application of selective reinforcement is shown to reduce material usage by 13%. The technical challenges of developing and deploying a Digital Twin are discussed and evaluated.