DIEFFENBACHER offers next-generation production systems for the aerospace industry

The aerospace industry faces growing pressure and demand to produce lighter, safer and more cost-effective components while maintaining the highest quality standards. At the same time, increasing production rates and the need for greater process transparency are driving demand for highly automated manufacturing concepts. With the acquisition of Schmidt & Heinzmann, DIEFFENBACHER offers a comprehensive portfolio of technologies for producing thermoplastic and thermoset aerospace components such as brackets, spoilers, window frames and seat structures.

“Challenges in the aerospace industry include reducing fuel consumption, maximizing safety and lowering component weight,” explains Tilo Schneider, Sales Manager of the Forming Business Unit at DIEFFENBACHER. “Lower weight means lower operating costs, greater payload capacity and improved efficiency. By combining advanced composite materials with highly precise manufacturing technologies, we enable our customers to meet these requirements while achieving economical large-scale production.”

A key element of efficient composite part production is getting the first manufacturing step right. DIEFFENBACHER’s automated Cutting & Stacking Centers enable the reproducible processing of dry fiber fabrics, prepregs and sheet molding compounds (SMC). By automating manufacturing steps and combining them with intelligent nesting software, manufacturers benefit from reduced manual effort, optimized material utilization and consistently high part quality.

“Customers use our Cutting & Stacking Centers to automate cutting and stacking processes for dry fiber fabrics, prepregs and SMC materials,” says Schneider. “The systems can automate all process steps, from cutting and stacking individual layers to optional fixation, quality inspections and transferring stacks to subsequent manufacturing operations. Combined with our production cells for preforming, SMC and prepreg compression molding and wet molding, these systems enable fully automated component manufacturing.”

To produce lightweight structural and exterior aircraft components made from carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRPs), DIEFFENBACHER offers fully automated HP-RTM production systems. These solutions are designed for the cost-effective manufacturing of structural and exterior aerospace components while achieving very high surface quality.

Another technology highlight is Ultra-RTM technology, DIEFFENBACHER’s advanced pressure-controlled RTM compression molding process. Unlike conventional RTM processes that rely on predefined pressure curves, Ultra-RTM continuously monitors cavity pressure, temperature and position through sensors integrated in the mold. “Ultra-RTM enables highly precise, pressure-controlled resin injection and compression in real time,” Schneider explains. “This allows manufacturers to avoid quality defects due to fiber undulations or displacement and to protect tooling, resulting in greater process stability and consistently high-quality components.”

For manufacturers focusing on thermoplastic composites, DIEFFENBACHER offers the fully integrated Tailored Blank Line. At its core are the Fiberforge tape-laying system and the Fibercon consolidation system, which enable the production of tailored thermoplastic blanks with exceptional flexibility and speed. Combined with upstream and downstream production stages, including automated tape handling and a DIEFFENBACHER thermoforming press, the system forms a complete manufacturing solution capable of producing more than one million lightweight composite components per year, depending on the part geometry and ply-book. The result is a flexible and extremely fast process for producing thermoplastic aerospace components. High-performance polymers such as PEEK, PEKK and PEI, which play a significant role in the aerospace industry, can also be processed on the Tailored Blank Line.

Alongside its manufacturing technologies, DIEFFENBACHER supports customers with its EVORIS AI-supported digitalization platform. EVORIS provides complete transparency across the production process and helps manufacturers improve efficiency and product quality. The platform includes EVORIS Connect, a 24/7 online customer portal, and EVORIS Control, a centralized HMI solution for plant visualization and operation. Additional EVORIS Intelligence apps leverage production data to optimize performance.

For example, the self-learning Anomaly Detection app identifies process deviations in real time, allowing operators to react before quality issues occur. The Reports app automatically analyzes production, raw-material consumption and energy usage, generating actionable insights for faster and better-informed decisions.

“Achieving consistently high product quality requires continuous monitoring and evaluation of production data throughout the entire process chain,” says Schneider. “Our systems combine advanced manufacturing technologies with intelligent analytics. Based on data-driven insights, process parameters can be optimized continuously, ensuring reliable production and reproducible component quality.”

To develop and validate innovative manufacturing processes for high-performance aerospace applications, DIEFFENBACHER works closely with independent research institutes. As a global supplier of complete production systems, the company draws on decades of experience in designing and implementing integrated production lines.

“Customers value us not only for our modernization services and fast-response support, but also for our expertise in selecting the most economical and technically suitable manufacturing process,” Schneider concludes. “By combining automation, advanced composites processing and digital intelligence, we help aerospace manufacturers build the production environments of tomorrow.”