Quality management of CFRP-components in the automotive production

Abstract

Due to the outstanding mechanical properties and the possibility of near-net-shape fabrication the amount of components which are made from carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) is highly increasing. Based on rising requirements concerning emission levels of vehicles, CFRP is also becoming the focus of attention in the automotive industry. Higher material costs and the need of additional processing technologies are raising the costs of the whole CFRP process chain. Using this kind of material in batch production requires a significant reduction of costs along the production of CFRP components themselves and the machining of CFRP which represents an important step of the mentioned process chain. It is necessary to adapt conventional tools and process parameters due to the different material behaviour of CFRP and metal (anisotropic and isotropic) during the machining. Also the damage patterns differ between CFRP and metals, as a result of the typical characteristics of fibre materials. Because of this, new strategies of quality management are necessary in the production and processing of CFRP.