Manufacturing of composite sandwich robot structures using the co-cure bonding method

Abstract

The conventional manufacturing of composite sandwich structures is completed by adhesive bonding separately prepared composite faces to cores. The joining process during sandwich fabrication is a most difficult process, which requires strict quality control. However, the joining process can be eliminated when the sandwich structures are manufactured by the co-cure method inside a mold using the large difference of coefficient of thermal expansion between foam cores and steel mold. In this work, the robot hands and wrists for handling large LCD glass panel displays were designed and manufactured using the co-cure method. Considering the non-linear thermal expansion properties of the foam during co-cure manufacturing, the pressure generated inside a mold was analyzed and the required pre-compression strain of the foam for sandwich beams was determined for enough consolidation. Finally, the composite sandwich robot hands and wrists were co-cure manufactured and the deflections of hands were measured under the weight of large LCD glass panel. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.