After thirty months of activity, the European ECO-CLIP project is coming to an end. This October, AIMEN Technology Centre, coordinator of ECO-CLIP, and Aitiip Technology Centre have held the final conference of the project, to show the industry the developments achieved along these periodo of execution. ECO-CLIP, framed within the EU funding programme Horizon 2020 and Clean Sky 2, has managed to demonstrate the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of a set of parts for the fuselage of an aircraft, which have been made from recycled material: frame clips and brackets made from factory waste. It is an innovative circular solution that brings the benefits of recyclable CF/LMPAEK thermoplastic composites to the aerospace industry.
ECO-CLIP has focused its research on replacing classical clip and bracket manufacturing processes with cost-effective manufacturing processes such as injection moulding and 3D printing. In addition, within the framework of ECO-CLIP, the consortium has succeeded in developing a specific ultrasonic welding process for joining the developed parts to the aircraft structure. Thanks to this optimisation of the production process, ECO-CLIP makes industrial sustainability feasible, as the elimination of the need for mechanical connections not only reduces costs, but also the environmental impact.