Automatic programming of robotic layup process for advanced composite materials draping

This paper deals with the implementation of a computational approach to planning and execution of robotic layup of fiber-reinforced composite prepregs. Starting from the geometry of the mold, in the virtual environment the implemented algorithm automatically plans the process and elaborates the movements of the robot by three connected sub-routines, namely the surface analysis, the strategy definition and the robot movement generation. A case study was simulated and then realized, to highlight capabilities and limitations of the approach. For both manual and automated strategies, defects were quantified as distance between mutual points in reference and in experimental surfaces. Defect formation mainly occurred on the inclined sub-surfaces and at their intersection, with no remarkable defects on horizontal and spherical sub-surfaces. The manual layup resulted in a high number of small defects up to 4.5 mm, while the robotic draping generated less but larger defects with a maximum size of 5.5 mm.