Adaptive control for tape laying head having natural path generation
First Claim
1. A multi-axis tape laying machine for depositing composite tape on a lay surface in courses to produce the plies of a laminated structure of compound contour, said tape laying machine comprising:
- a tape laying head moveable along a plurality of axes in accordance with control signals from a control processor means;
a mandrel having an actual contoured lay surface for defining the shape of at least one contoured ply of said laminated structure;
said control processor means generating said control signals in accordance with the natural tape path of each course of a ply along a representation of said actual surface; and
adaptive control means for independently modifying said control signals to at least one individual axis in order to compensate for differences between said actual surface and said representation of the actual surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A tape laying machine for depositing composite tape on the surface of a mandrel having a tape laying head positionable in multiple axes by a linear interpolative feedback control in combination with an adaptive control. The feedback control receives a commanded position from a natural path part program and regulates motion of the tape laying head of the machine along a track which will not unequally tension the edges of the tape and which is highly reproducible. The adaptive control separately varies the motion produced along individual axes by the feedback control without changing the tracking path to ensure correct tape laying conditions.
150 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A multi-axis tape laying machine for depositing composite tape on a lay surface in courses to produce the plies of a laminated structure of compound contour, said tape laying machine comprising:
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a tape laying head moveable along a plurality of axes in accordance with control signals from a control processor means; a mandrel having an actual contoured lay surface for defining the shape of at least one contoured ply of said laminated structure; said control processor means generating said control signals in accordance with the natural tape path of each course of a ply along a representation of said actual surface; and adaptive control means for independently modifying said control signals to at least one individual axis in order to compensate for differences between said actual surface and said representation of the actual surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. In a multi-axis tape laying machine for depositing composite tape in courses to produce the plies of a laminated structure of compound contour wherein said tape laying machine includes a tape laying head moveable about a plurality of axes in accordance with control signals from a control processor means, a mandrel having an actual contoured surface for defining the shape of at least one contoured ply of said laminated structure, and said control processor means receiving machine instructions for generating said control signals in accordance with the natural tape path of each course of a ply along a representation of said actual surface, an improvement comprising an adaptive control including:
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means for sensing the variances between said actual surface and said representative surface; and means for independently changing said control signals affecting individual axes to compensate for the variances between said actual surface and said representative surface without varying the natural tape path of each course as it is deposited on said actual surface. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification