Transferring the 3D Skeleton Winding Process to Industrial Automotive Applications: Advancements and Implementation Strategies

The mechanical properties of injection molded structural components can be significantly enhanced by incorporating local continuous fiber reinforcements in the highly stressed areas along the load paths. Depending on the component's complexity and the applied loads, topology optimization may indicate the need for a three-dimensional skeleton-like fiber structure to maximize the lightweight potential. The 3D Skeleton Winding (3DSW) process is a robot-based technique for efficiently manufacturing complex continuous fiber structures through 3D filament winding. To apply the potential of the developed process to structural components in high-volume production, this paper demonstrates the transfer of the 3DSW process to an automotive application through the development of an industrial 3DSW pilot process line.