After a two and a half years, the project "WindEIS – Development of wishbones printed with continuous fiber reinforcement, including the incorporation of sensors for online monitoring in operation," in collaboration with BRIGHT Testing GmbH, was successfully completed. The project was conducted under the "Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM)" of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

The focus of the project was the automated production of sensor-integrated and topology-optimized structural components using continuous fiber-reinforced additive manufacturing. Initially, a novel manufacturing system based on a Core-XY 3D printer was developed. This so-called Tool-Changer enables the automated use of multiple print heads or tools during the manufacturing process. This allowed the tasks to be divided among dedicated tools, instead of developing a very complex and error-prone print head. Furthermore, both fiber optic sensors (FOS) and carbon fiber sensors (CFS) were investigated with regard to the integration and condition monitoring of the structural components. Preliminary tests showed that both FOS and CFS are very suitable for structural integration. Additionally, parts of the carbon fibers integrated as reinforcement fibers can be used as CFS, known as “self-sensing.” In combination with topology optimization developed by the project partner, wishbones were optimized, sensor positions selected, and the lightweight potential exploited through load path-oriented fiber integration in the 3D printing process. Finally, demonstrators were manufactured at LCC and successfully tested on a test rig for superimposed loads at the project partner BRIGHT Testing GmbH.

We would like to thank the BMWK for funding the project and our partners for the consistently smooth and professional cooperation and coordination.