Automated fiber placement with course trajectory compensation

摘要

Various automated fiber placement systems and methods are disclosed. The system can determine steerable paths for the application of a composite material over highly contoured surfaces. The system can determine when a course trajectory would violate a steering limitation (e.g., a maximum bendability of the composite material) and can adjust the trajectory to avoid such violations. The adjustment can create gaps between adjacent courses, which can have a generally flared peripheral shape. The system can fill such gaps with subsequent courses of the composite material. Thus, the system can automatically apply composite material to highly contoured surfaces while also avoiding violation of the steering limitations.

主权项

1. A system for determining course trajectories for the application of tows of composite material to a curved surface using an automated fiber placement machine, the system comprising:
a non-transitory storage that stores data related to the shape and dimensions of the surface and that stores an indication of a steering limitation; and a computing system comprising one or more computing devices, the computing system in communication with the non-transitory storage and programmed to:
access, from the non-transitory storage, the data related to the shape and dimensions of the surface and the indication of the steering limitation;produce, based on the data, a plurality of course trajectories for the application of tows over the surface, the trajectories being generally parallel to each other;determine, for each course trajectory, whether any of the tows would violate the steering limitation;adjust each course trajectory having a tow that violates the steering limitation, the adjustment comprising determining a course trajectory that:
avoids the violation of the steering limitation; andintentionally diverges from an adjacent course trajectory, thereby creating a gap between the adjusted course trajectory and the adjacent course trajectory, the gap having a flared shape that comprises a lateral width that is greater than the lateral width of a single one of the tows; andproduce at least one additional course trajectory located in the gap.