Composite Fiber Placement Path Planning and Fiber Number Determination

A path planning algorithm for composite fiber placement is proposed. First the determination for fiber placement is discussed. On the basis of the fiber placement reference curves obtained through the central curves of the core mould, the fiber placement path generation algorithm is designed for 0°, 45° and 90° placement directions. Furthermore, the corresponding relation between fiber number and placement path is established. A fiber number determination algorithm is presented based on the curves with equal distance to the placement path, so that the fibers can be quite evenly placed onto the surfaces of the core mould. The related software module is developed based on CATIA CAA. At last the algorithms proposed above are verified through fiber placement process simulation.