Efficient Production of CFRP Lightweight Structures on the Basis of Manufacturing Considerations at an Early Design Stage

Success in development of lightweight structures is determined by the three disciplines of design, materials, and manufacturing. Focusing on design leads to expensive lightweight structures while overrating production makes it hard to reach structural performance goals. The global optimum of structural Performance and cost can only be reached if all three disciplines are equally taken into account. It can be observed that this optimum gets increasingly important for major strategic decisions in lightweight construction industry, e.g. the material concept in future aircraft structures carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) versus aluminum.