Latest Trends in Manufacturing Technology for Increasing use of Composites in Aerospace and Automotive Sector

In mobility applications most structures are assemblies of shell-like components. Conventional solutions, e. g. for a car body, are based on monolithic sheet metal and forming and joining technologies which are able to provide large outputs and high productivity at the same time. Following the demand for lightweight solutions and improved performance, it is intended to replace the pure metal sheets by hybrid metal-plastic components. Until now, the manufacturing of metal-plastic hybrid parts has still been very labor and cost intensive due to the separate production of metal and plastic components. Therefore, integrated processes are developed to enable the production of affordable hybrid components. Additionally, 3D printing technologies have been of increasing interest for applications focused on individualization, flexibility and freedom of design. The following examples illustrate the latest developments for composite production using these methods.