PlyMatch™ - Ply Placement Technology
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During manufacture of
composite structural components by manual lay-up, it is necessary to
position plies of dry or wet fabric or prepreg accurately on a tool, or on
preceding plies. Template methods or specialised equipment are often used for
this purpose, in order to aid the operator in correctly and accurately locating
a ply. Accuracy in ply placement as well as quality assurance regarding the
correct ply sequence and orientation are very important factors in the
manufacture of high-cost, high-performance composite components. The purpose of the novel Ply Placement Visual Aid System is to display together on a computer screen a live video image of the "real world" that the operator is interacting with, and a computer-generated image of the structure and composite ply being assembled. Watch the system in action by downloading the videos available here. |
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The data for the computer
generated drawings of the plies that are displayed correctly in place, may originate
from virtually any CAD application, or from our own Laminate Tools software application,
for additional features. Laminate Tools is a powerful design tool for
composite material structures, and includes industry-leading draping
simulation capabilities for ply definition.
In this way, ply information comes directly from design and may not require any translation or manipulation whatsoever, for use with the present system. |
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Customer
Testimonial: "Wirth Research created a composite facility specifically to produce components to a higher standard than we could obtain from any commercial supplier. The quality of hand layed up composite parts depends on the skill of the laminator to interpret a two-dimensional drawing illustrating individual ply boundaries and orientations. Wirth Research uses Laminate Tools and PlyMatch to fully define in 3-Dimensions the layup of all structural components produced by our own composites facility. The PlyMatch system gives a clear indication of the boundary as well as material type and orientation for every ply. PlyMatch also illustrates the positions of inserts and honeycomb transitions .There is no need to measure or mark out anything during the layup process. There is therefore no need for design to provide additional information to support such processes, saving time and ensuring consistency as there are no interpretations made. The ply boundaries and orientations are exactly as defined in 3D by the designer and as analysed in FE." John
McQuilliam, Head of Composites |
Key features
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suitable for highly curved parts whose surface is not fully visible from one direction
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excellent for small parts or small plies
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can look inside cavities (eg a conical surface)
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can display full draping information, splits, etc., not just the outline.
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any CAD information can be included in the display (as dxf curves)
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can be used to simply prepare templates
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can be used directly from the design software (Laminate Tools)
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tool (mould) can be moved at all times without recalibration
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process can be recorded to hard disk for quality control
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fully portable
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low cost to buy
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near-zero cost to maintain
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alternative use purely as CMM (but may require additional software)
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potential for customisation (more sensors, wireless probes, display hardware)
PlyMatch is the result of a two-year research initiative, involving mainly Anaglyph and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). The contribution of NPL staff with guidance, ideas and the provision of their laboratory facilities has been crucial to the success of the project. Sincere thanks are also due to Combined Composites Technologies (CCT) Ltd, for supplying moulds and testing the system.
© 2012 Anaglyph Ltd, International Patent Pending