Overview of current design and analysis of potential theories for automated fibre placement mechanisms

• Published in: Chinese journal of aeronautics Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 1 - 13
• Main Authors: ZHANG, Wuxiang, LIU, Fei, JIANG, Tao, YI, Minghui, CHEN, Weiqiang, DING, Xilun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2022; School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation,Beihang University,37 Xueyuan Road,Beijing 100191,China; Ningbo Institute of Technology,Beihang University,Ningbo 315832,China%School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation,Beihang University,37 Xueyuan Road,Beijing 100191,China%Beijing Weixing Manufacturing Plant Co.,Ltd,Beijing 100191,China
• Subjects: Automated fibre placement systems; Layup performance; Structure design; Sub-mechanisms; Theoretical foundation; Layup performance; Theoretical foundation; Automated fibre placement systems; Sub-mechanisms; Structure design
• ISSN: 1000-9361
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cja.2021.04.018

Automated fibre placement (AFP) systems have successfully intensified the demand for high-quality composite component manufacturing in both the military and civilian fields. One of the main elements of these systems is the AFP mechanism for accomplishing individual fibre delivery, clamp/cut/restart (CCR) and the consolidation process, and it consists of several functional sub-mechanisms presenting strong coupling relationships and motion sequences. This review aims to summarize the development of AFP mechanisms and the associated research achievements and provide insight into the research challenges in promoting innovative design in such mechanisms. The systematic development of AFP systems is reviewed in detail, and subsequently, engineering tendency and the general principle of AFP mechanisms are introduced. Focusing on the mechanism design of AFP sub-mechanisms, including the creel assembly CCR and compaction mechanisms, the mechanical schemes as well as the AFP process parameter control are discussed. To improve system reliability and fully optimise AFP mechanisms, the essential theoretical foundation for AFP mechanisms are provided. It is believed that this attempt will help to change the design and optimisation of similar complete mechanisms. Based on the reviewed research, overall remarks and perspectives are presented to serve as a guide for exploring the possibility of novel easy-to-use and cost-effective integrated AFP applications.