[Project news Clean Sky 2 – STUNNING]
Advanced thermoplastic composite technology and smart robotics will significantly reduce weight and manufacturing cost of future aircraft with a high production rate. In April 2024, the European Clean Sky 2 STUNNING project was successfully concluded. GKN Fokker, NLR, Delft University of Technology and SamXLabs, have successfully manufactured and assembled by welding the 8m by 4m composite fuselage shell, with passenger floor, cargo hold and equipped with systems, one of the world’s largest thermoplastic components.
This composite structure was manufactured as lower part of the Multi-Functional Fuselage Demonstrator (MFFD) led by Airbus, in which lower and upper half were finally joined. This demonstrates how the use of thermoplastic composites can help realise a next-gen fleet of aircraft capable of offering the same strength and durability as aluminium, while drastically reducing the overall weight of the fuselage and the subsequent aircraft emissions.
The video shows the NLR’s full manufacturing process, including advanced inspection, of the lower skin of the MFFD as the first, single part in the assembly of the lower half of the MFFD, thus completing a previous, more detailed movie on the AFP lay-up of the skin.
#thermoplastics #fuselage #aircraft #composites #automatedmanufacturing
source