Automated honeycomb potting in the aerospace industry

The Swiss company Von Roll, has developed a filler for honeycomb structures. The special feature of this new, shear-sensitive and highly viscous material is that it can be stored at room temperature, has a low density and is interspersed with hollow glass microspheres to achieve an end product with a reduced weight.

ViscoTec should extensively test the automated processability of the new filler during the development process. And this with a pre-defined volume flow whilst simultaneously, gently handling the sensitive material.

Together with the Dutch company Airborne, which offers solutions for the automation of production processes, was it possible to fill the honeycombs fully automatically. Built into a robotic dispensing cell, ViscoTec’s dispensers can carry out precise dispensing - at various locations and with various geometries. This can be realised due to the programming of the robotic as well as ViscoTec’s individual nozzle design.

Arno van Mourik, CEO of Airborne, said: "Our goal is to offer our customers a significant cost reduction through increased accuracy and repeatability of potting, drastically reducing material waste and reducing manual labour and non-conformities. That's why we're working on several automated and digital solutions."

"We are pleased to be able to offer a completely new generation of core filler that is superior to previous solutions in every way. The new formulation offers excellent processability, very long shelf life, requires no cooling and is completely free of harmful halogens and anhydrides," said Dr. Christian Hennerkes, CEO of Von Roll.

"The close cooperation between Airborne, Von Roll and ViscoTec enables us to offer a complete solution: An automated dispensing system for customers who require a significant increase in productivity and output," said Simon Widderich, Business Development Manager Aerospace at ViscoTec.