Smart Process Planning for Automated Fiber Placement

Many industries, including aerospace, automotive, wind energy, maritime, and
sporting goods, rely on strong, lightweight materials called composites. These materials are
made by layering fibers, which can come in the form of narrow strips or wider sheets, and
setting them in a polymer matrix. One of the most advanced ways to make these parts is
through automated fiber placement, where a machine lays down the fibers in precise patterns.
This method can create very efficient and strong designs, but it is complex, expensive, and
often depends heavily on the experience of skilled engineers.

Today, the design, manufacturing, and inspection stages of composite production are
usually handled separately. This separation means that important information, such as how a
part will be built or what defects might occur, is not always shared between stages. As a
result, parts may not be as lightweight, strong, or defect-free as possible, and the process can
take longer and cost more.

This research develops a smart process planning system that connects design,
manufacturing, and inspection into one continuous process. Built as software that works
with existing tools, the system can automatically plan how the fibers are placed, predicting
and reducing defects while improving both manufacturability and strength. The system
optimizes not only individual layers but also how defects are distributed across all layers,
preventing them from stacking up in ways that weaken the final part. It also uses inspection
results from completed parts to improve future designs, creating a feedback loop where each
stage informs the others.

The system was tested by designing a composite panel using this new approach and
comparing it to a panel made with state-of-the-art manual planning methods. The results
showed that the system could intentionally control where defects appeared and increase the
efficiency of the planning process.

By unifying design, manufacturing, and inspection, this research shows a way to
make advanced composite manufacturing more efficient, consistent, and cost-effective. This
approach lowers the barrier to using automated fiber placement and opens the door for its
wider adoption not only in aerospace but also in industries such as automotive, wind energy,
maritime, and sporting goods, where strong and lightweight structures are essential.