Automated fibre placement was used to optimise the tow steering of carbon fibre reinforced plastic/polymer whereby\udthe minimum defect-free steering radius (Rmin) achievable. The results revealed that in the case of the woven ply surface\udwith unheated tool the Rmin, using 1/4 inch tows, is found to be 1350 mm. For the bare tool surface, the tool temperature\udhad to be raised to 30C in order to achieve the same Rmin of 1350 mm. To attain a seamless transition from part design\udto manufacture using CAD, automated fibre placement was equipped with software tools (TruPLAN and TruFIBER).\udFrom the results of software validation and steering trials on a variable radius tool having a pre-laid UD ply, it is found\udthat the ability to steer around a tighter radius was a vast asset of the 1/8 inch tow over the 1/4 inch one, which makes it\udthe preferred choice for the more geometrically complex parts.\ud
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