Sheet forming process of carbon fiber reinforced plastics for lightweight parts

The use of carbon fiber reinforced plastics is increasing markedly, particularly in aircraft bodies, but the time required to manufacture CFRP parts should be shortened to realize mass production. The stamping of solidified CFRP sheets can reduce the production time and may increase the flexibility of the manufacturing process. A new sheet forming process for solidified CFRP, in which a CFRP sheet is sandwiched by dummy metallic sheets during stamping, is proposed. The dummy metallic sheets act as protective materials as well as media for heating the CFRP sheet. The results of applying the proposed process are presented.