Hybrid manufacturing of a 3D-shaped fiber metal laminate

This contribution presents a methodology for designing, manufacturing, and testing of a multi-material solution demonstrator of a lower control arm for electric vehicle (EV) chassis made of a three-dimensional Fiber reinforced polymer-Metal Laminate (FML). The Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) approach includes simulation methodology for process modeling, i.e. forming and draping, and part performance with the aim to reduce the developing time and related trial and errors. The challenges, besides a limited availability of resources and material input data for numerical models, include the combination of different forming methods for Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) and sheet metals (aluminum alloy) with the aim of simultaneous forming of both materials. Especially the sheet metal forming needed several improvement steps regarding heat treatment state to increase the ductility and reduce crack propagation, as well as optimization of the shape of the blanks to be formed into an asymmetric, three-dimensional geometry. Assembly includes adhesive bonding of the flat FML to the curved structure, and adapters for the testing to be performed. The quasi-static misuse testing is in good agreement to the results obtained from the simulated structural performance, with the weakest location being the adhesive bond line. An outlook on potential improvements regarding process simulation for manufacturing Fiber Metal Laminates, including necessary input data, is provided.