SFA Advanced Manufacturing
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CFRP-AM

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers and Additive Manufacturing
Individualized cost-efficient and sustainable ultra-lightweight structural components

The main task of any natural and technical structure is to guarantee functionality and integrity and to be light in order to minimize material and energy consumption over the entire lifetime. Considering that material, function and form are intimately related to one another, structural efficiency can be improved by multi-material approaches, optimal design topology in terms of material orientation and distribution, and integration of functions.
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Core of an aircraft instrument panel with structural components made by AM, Source: ETH Zürich
A key challenge is the realization of individualized lightweight solutions with high customer value. The project consortium aims to push the potential of lightweight through the combination of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) and Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies.

Scope of Research Activities
Optimal use of carbon fibers
  • Development of a flexible, cost-efficient, and sustainable design and manufacturing route for variable stiffness laminated structures
Efficient design processes for Additive Manufacturing (AM)
  • Development of methods and tools for an efficient design process, including a design tool for the parametrical CAD modeling of functional and load-bearing elements in target applications
3D printing of soft/hard complex materials
  • Formulation of printable inks with varied mechanical properties to enable fabrication of graded parts and interfaces and development of an additive manufacturing platform for DIW on non-planar surfaces
Fracture and interface mechanics of interfaces/interphases
  • Characterize the durability (load transfer, stiffness) and fracture of the interfaces/interphases between the different scaffolds, produced by the 3D printing, and polymer composite, steel and/or aluminum, or other chosen appropriate materials
Structural Mechanics & Design
  • Development of robust and integrated component-level testing and simulation environment based on in-service loading conditions to provide: (i) initial input conditions for implementing and optimizing component designs, and (ii) experimental validation of prototypes


Key Technical Problems to Solve
  • Fiber distribution for variable stiffness laminated structures
  • 3D printing of complex materials
  • Fracture interface mechanics of complex, inhomogeneous materials

Demonstrators
  • Exo-skeleton component
  • Transcatheter heart valve
  • Structural aircraft component

Leading Principal Investigator
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Prof. Dr. Paolo Ermanni
Laboratory of Composite Materials and Adaptive Structures, ETH Zürich 

Project Consortium
  • Prof. Dr. Mirko Meboldt, Product Development Group Zürich (pd|z), ETH Zürich
  • Prof. Dr. André Studart, Complex Materials, ETH Zürich
  • Prof. Dr. John Botsis, Laboratory of Applied Mechanics and Reliability Analysis, EPF Lausanne
  • Prof. Dr. Giovanni Terrasi, Laboratory for Mechanical Systems Engineering, Empa
  • Prof. Dr. Roger Gassert, Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems / Rehabilitation Engineering Lab, ETH Zürich
  • Dr. Markus Zogg, ics, Inspire AG
  • Dr. Christoph Klahn, ipdz, Inspire AG
An initiative of the ETH Board
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Participating Institutions of the ETH Domain
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Disclaimer
Imprint
© COPYRIGHT 2019. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Focus Areas
    • Precision Free-Form Manufacturing
    • Printed Electronics
    • Sustainable Digital Manufacturing and Design
    • Sensing Technologies
    • Intelligent Systems and Advanced Automation
  • Projects
    • Research Projects >
      • Ceramic X.0
      • FUORCLAM
      • Powder Focusing
      • PREAMPA
      • FOXIP
      • CFRP-AM
      • SD4D
      • D-SENSE
      • MOCONT
      • Nano Assembly
      • X-Ray Diagnostics
    • Selection Process >
      • Initial Program
      • Expansion Program
  • Events
    • Annual Review Meeting 2019 >
      • Annual Review 2019 Registration
    • Annual Review Meeting 2018
    • Launch Event 13 Nov 2017
    • Workshop 6 July 2017
    • Workshop 17 Oct 2016
  • About
    • Steering Committee
    • Participating ETH Institutions
  • Contact