Manufacturing tape laying

On-line consolidation techniques are commonly used in manufacturing processes, such as filament winding and tape laying. Despite differences in the machines used to implement these two manufacturing processes, similar procedures are required to ensure complete bonding between the composite layers. The basic components of on-line consolidation process are illustrated in Figure 7.2. 

Most manufacturers use spray guns and pumping systems to have a more rapid and consistent mix to wet out the laminate, where highly accurate metering systems can also be used and automated tape-laying machines have been developed recently, as discussed in the part on spray-up techniques. 

Early automated tape laying imitated manual operations to lay 7.5-cm imi-directional tape on a flat table. All manufacturers at first produced 7.5-cm tape, and tape-laying machines were built accordingly. Tape sizes were then extended to 15 and 30 cm, then back to 2.5 cm. Today most machines have two heads one for 2.5-cm, and another for 15-cm tape. 

In the AFP process, multi-headed robot machinery lays down multiple strands of prepregged fibre on either flat tools, curved mandrels or complete cylindrical mandrels or drums (as applied in manufacture of fuselage sections of the Boeing 787). The process is shown in Figure 3.4. The ATL variant of the process lays down tapes of unidirectional prepreg up to 300 mm wide across the mandrel. The AFP process uses smaller width ribbons of prepreg a few millimetres wide and can... 

The lay-up procedme may be carried out entirely by hand (hand lay-up), in which the operator both cuts the lengths of tape and then positions them in the desired orientation on the tooled siuface. Alternatively, tape patterns may be machine cut, then hand laid. Fabrication costs can be further reduced by automation of prepreg lay-up and other manufacturing procedmes (e.g., filament winding, as discussed next), which virtually eliminates the need for hand labor. These automated methods are essential for many applications of composite materials to be cost effective. 

---