Automated tape layup

Automated prepreg processes automated fibre placement and automated tape layup... 

Crossley R, Schubel P, Warrior N (2010), Challenges in automated turbine blade production Automated tape layup (ATL) of wind energy grade materials , EWEC 2010, EWEA Warsaw, Poland... 

The ATL and AFP processes are thus a cross between filament winding with its elaborate automated patterns of fibre laydown and unidirectional prepreg layup with its reliance on the autoclave. The use of automated robotic machinery for the layup gives increased layup speed (vital to economically manufacture these large items in feasible timescale), consistency and freedom from errors compared with manual techniques, as well as ensuring precision in the placement of the tows and tapes. 

Automation layup efforts are traditionally directed toward the prqrreg tape lay down/autoclave cure processes that are necessary for complex aircraft shapes. Major... 

Automation considerations. The layup of a composite, the actual placement of plies in their expected final position in the laminate, cannot be separated from the total manufacturing process in some procedures, e.g., filament winding or pultrusion. In other techniques, e.g., automatic tape laydown or RTM, the layup process is a separate batch process and is completely separate from the compaction and cure phase. AU composite manufacturing processes can be automated to some extent, and the amount of automation depends on how amenable the optimum manufacturing technique is to total or partial automation, the capital costs of the automation machinery, eventual total number of piece parts to be manufactured, the expected cost of each, the time frame available, and a host of other factors. 

Composites used for many structural applications are commonly prepared using a layup operation (either hand or automated), in which prepreg tape plies are laid down on a tooled surface and are subsequently fully cured by the simultaneous application of heat and pressure. 

---