An Industry 4.0-based repair concept for structural CFRP components in the automotive sector

Abstract

Due to global warming and a raising awareness of ecological implications of fossil fuel use, electromobility is an aspiring market for the automotive industry. However, electric vehicles still suffer from a couple of issues that are currently under research. One of these problems is the high weight of incorporated rechargeable battery units. To compensate battery weight, automotive manufacturers have replaced metal components by substantially lighter, but structurally equivalent components made of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). However, since electric vehicles are still far from being common, there are no economic repair concepts yet. This publication will present such a concept for repairing CFRP-based electric vehicles, based on the Industry 4.0 approach, and first results regarding the automated production of CFRP patches as a part of this concept.