Abstract
This thesis contains investigations of automated processes for composite manufacturing and
characterisation. These processes were reviewed and then optimised for use within a
production environment at the McLaren Composite Technology Centre. There are three
main focus areas of investigation: the optimum splicing methods for high speed automated
fibre placement, characterisation of the heat transfer properties of dry fibre Non-Crimped
Fabrics and the investigation into a novel automated inspection process for composite
structures.
A general literature review highlights the need for automation to take a more prominent
role in the creation of composite parts by focusing on current methods of manufacturing
and characterising composite parts in the automotive industry. The literature review
highlights key areas in which automation could be used to improve accuracy and cycle
times.
The first investigation is focused on characterising the heat transfer properties of one of the
raw materials used by McLaren Automotive in the manufacture of the McLaren Composite
Light Architecture (MCLA), biaxial non-crimp dry carbon fibre. The second investigation
looks into an emerging replacement technology for creating 2d preform stacks, High Speed
Automated Fibre Placement (HS-AFP). It primarily focuses on eliminating the current
limitations of HS-AFP by analysing splicing methods for the tapes used in the process which
could be automated rather than the traditional manual splicing methods.
The final theme for the investigations focuses on a very time consuming and complex aspect
of composite manufacture, the process of manually inspecting composite structures. The
focus is on the manufacturing process of High Pressure Resin Transfer Moulding (HP-RTM),
as this is the process used by McLaren Automotive at the McLaren Composite Technology
Centre (MCTC). The investigation looks into how a new machine vision technique could be
implemented into an automated inspection process that would be capable of finding and
then characterising all known defects associated with an HP-RTM process.
The investigations undertaken in this thesis have now been adopted by McLaren
Automotive at the MCTC facility for the future refinement and optimisation of the MCLA
manufacturing process. The investigations into a fully automated inspection process have
resulted in a patent application process being initiated by McLaren Automotive and the
concept being looked into as exploitable product suitable for the wider composite industry.