Large format composites manufacturing suffers from high costs of retooling. As automated layup reaches new industries, market demand for equipment targeting decades-long production runs becomes less common. Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) and its deployment in manufacturing systems must respond with innovative equipment configurations and flexible processes.

Concurrently, large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) is experiencing a generational change. Experts are emerging while machine builders and material suppliers are maturing. A demanding and concentrated user group with unique process challenges requires focused yet flexible solutions.

This presentation highlights application concepts born from the acceleration of LFAM and the paradigm shift in production AFP. Case studies, market segments and emerging technology will be discussed in depth while focusing on the hybrid machine tool as an enabling design principle.

Ingersoll Machine Tools (Rockford, IL) brings to Additive Manufacturing an over 125-year history of engineering innovation in large scale machine tools for the aerospace, transportation, energy and defense industries. Today Ingersoll designs and builds advanced subtractive and additive manufacturing machines for a wide variety of complex processes and motion control applications.