Trajectory generation for open-contoured structures in robotic fibre placement

Composites have become common engineering materials in industries where the strength to weight performance of structures is a key

design consideration. The major limiting factors are the high-manufacturing costs and low-production rates. Robotic fibre placement

(RFP) is one alternative process to overcome the limiting factors and it is generally suitable for open-continuous components. A novel

path planning algorithm for open-contoured structures, entitled the surface curve algorithm for robotic fibre placement (SCAR) is

proposed. The algorithm aims to produce a uniform lay-up of composite lamina, without gap and overlap between subsequent tows.

A numerical investigation into the characteristics of the algorithm is performed and presented. The algorithm is implemented on complex

contoured surface and some of the results are presented in this paper.