The Effect of Process Parameters on First Ply Deposition in Automated Fibre Placement

Abstract

Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) is widely recognised as one of the most advanced processes for manufacturing structural composite components. Understanding the process remains at the forefront of academic/industrial investigation due to the myriad of parameters that affect the quality of the deposited tape. A novel AFP testbench, which included a heated glass tool, was developed to aid in the investigation of the material behaviour underneath the roller during compaction. The material behaviour was captured by using a camera directed at the compaction region, where the data was subsequently analysed using a vision analysis technique during a post-processing step. The results indicate that the use of a glass tool can help in quantifying the tape spreading when subjected to varying process temperatures as well as identifying various defects and features that can arise in a typical AFP manufacturing cycle.