Step 1: The outer skin

Step 1: The outer skin
First, thermoplastic tape is heated by a robot-operated laser to around 380 degrees Celsius and laid down with pinpoint accuracy. The tool handled by the robot resembles an oversized tape dispenser. With minimal material waste and low energy consumption, this creates a thermoplastic laminate layer by layer, which does not need to be hardened separately. This process, refined by DLR, is called 'in-situ consolidation'. Ensuring that both the deposition rate and the material quality are high requires close coordination between all disciplines, from mechanical engineering and materials science to control engineering and simulation.