Airbus Orders Six Fiber Placement Systems for A350 XWB Fuselage

Airbus has placed orders with MAG Cincinnati for six VIPER Fiber Placement Systems (FPS) for automated fabrication of composite fuselage panels for the upcoming composite airframe of the A350 XWB. The VIPER 6000 series FPS', MAG Cincinnati's largest, can produce fuselage panels up to 6.3m/20.7ft in diameter. As first-wave equipment buys, the VIPER FPS systems will be used for part and process development before transitioning to production. The VIPER systems will be installed at Airbus facilities in France, Germany and Spain. The equipment commonality enables sharing of knowledge base and production efficiencies, notes Randy Kappesser, vice president, MAG Cincinnati Composites business.

Airbus and European partners previously purchased 14 MAG Cincinnati composite systems – four VIPER FPS and 10 automated tape layers (ATL) – to produce parts for the A320, A330, A340, A380 and A400M aircrafts. Components include wing stringers, spars, skins and elevators, tail skins and horizontal planes, engine cowls, fuselage skins, and belly fairings.

The new VIPERs feature Cincinnati's latest head technology delivering the industry's highest kg/hr lay-up productivity, says Kappesser. The VIPERs will produce 92% of the fuselage for the A350 XWB. The aircraft will be more than 50% composite construction by weight, according to Airbus.

VIPERs enable independent control over feed, clamp, cut and start for up to 32 individual tows or slit tape. This allows automated "on-the-fly" adjustment of fiber band width, controlled bending of fiber layout around changing contours, and precise configuration of openings (doors, hatches, etc.). The multi-strand control allows wrinkle-free, near-net shape lay-up of enclosed and deeply contoured structures and concave/convex surfaces, enabling precision production of fuselage sections, panels, cowls, ducts, and nozzle cones for commercial, military and space vehicles.

MAG Cincinnati CHARGER Automated Tape Layers perform automated lay-up with wider graphite/epoxy tape material. A fifthgeneration head delivers high productivity and consistency. Separate ATL models are available for automated lay-up of contoured (up to 25°) and flat shapes, and long, narrow structural parts. cinmach.mag-ias.com