AUTOMATED COMPOSITE TAPE LAYING

The new third generation contoured tape laying machines pose problems not previously encountered with the conventional flat tape layers. The most pronounced problem is the requirement to lay unidirectional composite tape on a contoured surface while maintaining equivalent stress to all fibers of the tape. At Bell, the problem has been overcome by developing a mixture of software and hardware to produce natural path contour tape laying. This technology has been implemented on a 10-axis numerically controlled contoured composite tape layer to produce an automated system capable of fabricating quality composite parts in a high-rate production environment. The numerical control source programs are executed using the software which resides on a mainframe computer and has interactive graphic capabilities. The data is output on a mag-tape which is then loaded into a mini-computer to drive the two machine controllers. The controllers, in turn, enable the machine to lay composite tape on a contoured surface within an envelope of 50 feet × 12 feet × 4 feet. The advantages of an automated tape laying system are reflected in the final product by the ability to meet the repeatability and precision required to produce composite components to the design specifications. These advantages coupled with the ability to lay tape ten times faster than hand composite layout make the system extremely attractive. This paper details the system, its advantages, its implementation into the production environment, and future improvements.