Towards a Manufacturing Technology for High-Volume Production of Composite Components

Abstract

The last decade has seen strong interest from high-volume manufacturers such as the automotive industry in the development of processes which provide cost effective routes to the manufacture of components in fibre-reinforced composite materials. This paper considers one family of processes that have been targeted as offering a solution—that of resin transfer moulding (RTM)—and reviews the findings of work based at the University of Nottingham. The mechanisms involved are examined together with the variants on the basic process and the implications for high-volume production. Consideration is given to process technology, materials and the relationship between design and manufacture. A route to high-volume manufacture based upon computer aided engineering is proposed.