ROBOTIC LAYING OUT OF PREPREGS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO TECHNOLOGY TO ATL AND AFP (review)

Abstract

With the growing use of composite materials, the automated production of parts using prepreg is gaining increasing interest. There are two main types of prepreg laying automation: Automated Tape Laying (ATL) and Automated Fiber placement (AFP). Both of these technologies are not always cost effective for all types of parts, and manual labor tends to be used to make complex parts with low production volumes. As an alternative to these two dominant automation solutions, there are 4 options for automated laying with manipulators.