Earlier this month, ARM Institute Program Managers Miguel Rodriguez and Russell Wanke attended the mid-program review for the Demonstration of Rapid Thermoplastic Composites (TPC) Welding at Scale ARM Institute Technology Project. The review of the Rapid TPC Welding Project took place at the Collins Aerospace facility in Riverside, California and gave the team the opportunity to understand how Collins Aerospace is planning to integrate the Rapid TPC Welding Project into their facility, as well as discuss possible challenges in integrating the new technology into their operations.
Project Background
The Demonstration of Rapid TPC Welding at Scale ARM Institute Technology Project was selected from the ARM Institute’s 24-01 Technology Project Call, which which centered on the following special topic areas: Multi-Modal Inputs for AI Robotics in Manufacturing, Rapid Re-Tasking and Robot Agility, Multi-Robot, Multi-Human Collaboration, and Virtual Commissioning of Advanced Robotic Systems.
Lightweight carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites (TPCs) are recognized as a key material capable of meeting the future aerospace market high-rate demands while also providing sustainability benefits. One challenging, but key enabler of high-rate thermoplastic composites manufacturing is welding. In a prior ARM Institute funded project called Rapid Welding of Thermoplastic Composite Structures, robotic continuous ultrasonic welding was shown to increase the speed of induction. This Rapid TPC Welding project builds on the outputs from the prior thermoplastic composite welding project in order to scale it to production use. The project is led by RTX Technology Research Center with team members Carnegie Mellon University, Wason Technology LLC, and Collins Aerospace.
Next Anticipated Milestone
The Rapid TPC Welding Project is on track for a full-scale demonstration at RTX Technology Research Center’s facility in Connecticut with production-relevant parts provided by Collins Aerospace. The team has already executed a successful hermoplastic composite weld path generated from sensor scan data and is almost complete with full integration for the robotic platform. Next, the team will be working to integrate the process with parts from Collins Aerospace and collect data to generate new weld paths controlling for critical conditions (e.g., surface temperature, weld surface quality). The team will also perform tests using equipment from a different robotic brand to demonstrate that the software and hardware deployment can remain platform-agnostic.
More Information Available only to ARM Members in the ARM Member Community
ARM Members can access further information about the Rapid TPC Welding Project, including assets from the project kick-off, on the ARM Member Community. The ARM Member Community is available only to ARM Members and is your key to project information, member-exclusive events, news, research reports, virtual networking, and more. Email [email protected] for assistance using the Community.
More About ARM Institute Projects
ARM Institute projects catalyze collaboration across the Institute’s 450+ member organization consortium. These projects leverage experts across industry, government, and academia to produce impactful robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions in manufacturing. Projects are selected from ARM Institute Project Calls, which detail areas of need as determined by ARM Institute experts, members, and government stakeholders.
Want to get involved in projects? Explore ARM Institute membership here.
ABOUT THE ARM INSTITUTE
The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute is a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense under Agreement Number W911NF-17-3-0004 and is part of the Manufacturing USA® network. The ARM Institute leverages a unique, robust, and diverse consortium of 450+ members and partners across industry, academia, and government to make robotics, autonomy, and artificial intelligence more accessible to U.S. manufacturers large and small, train and empower the manufacturing workforce, strengthen our economy and global competitiveness, and elevate national security and resilience. Based in Pittsburgh, PA since 2017, with a satellite office in St. Petersburg, FL, the ARM Institute is leading the way to a future where people & robots work together to respond to our nation’s greatest challenges and to produce the world’s most desired products. For more information, visit www.arminstitute.org and follow the ARM Institute on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).
Join our mailing list