FPP Production System SAMBA

Fiber Patch Placement means highly scalable additive manufacturing customized to your needs. We implement SAMBA production systems for different component sizes, working with patch sizes of 20 mm x 40 mm up to large patches of 200 mm x 300 mm.

SAMBA Series platforms work with a range of different dry-fiber and prepreg materials such as carbon fiber, glass fiber, adhesive prepregs, coppermesh prepregs and other technical fibers of all major suppliers, covering areal weights of 80 gsm to 300 gsm.

Speak to us for an individual implementation of Fiber Patch Placement. We will customize the SAMBA system for your applications and adjust it to your shopfloor requirements.

Modules for material feeding and cutting are compatible with a wide range of materials in tape form. They feature a single or double material feeder in a temperature-controlled housing. Tape width is customizable. Patches are cut from the fiber tape by ultrasonic knifes from GFM. A high-precision camera with dedicated image processing computer checks every patch for quality before further processing. ​

Placement modules can be customized to meet individual requirements depending on the application​ along with tailored Cevotec patch grippers mounted to the placement robot. Our standard choice are Kuka robots, but we can consider different brands on request. An optional linear axis can extend the reach of the robots and thereby the range of suitable applications. A high-precision camera monitors the correct positioning of the patches on the gripper and, if necessary, adds offset parameter in real-time to ensure a precise lay-up on the determined position. Heating units, either in the gripper or externally, allow short-term heating of the patches for proper adhesion during placement.

Tool holders and manipulators are specific to each application. Quick-mount tooling systems are available for flexible production set-ups in combination with e.g. 6-axis tool holder, which enables an efficient and economic batch production of smaller component batch sizes. Combining a 6-axis tool holder with a 6-axis placement robot gives 12 degrees of freedom to automate the lay-up of even very complex geometries.

SAMBA systems are controlled by Siemens SIMATIC PLC  that can be accessed via an HMI Panel with Cevotec user interface (UI) optimized for Fiber Patch Placement. The quality control cameras of the feeding and cutting as well as the placement units are connected to a dedicated image processing computer. Each SAMBA system features a broad range of additional sensors to monitor and control e.g. temperatures, deposition pressures, etc. An industrial IoT gateway enables fast, efficient and secure remote support.