Automated Fiber Placement Options

The Automated Fiber Placement process provides the following options:

• Layup Tool Cost Override

• Layup Tool Material

• Automated Fiber Placement Machine Programming Cost

• Number of Operators

• Number of Active Spools

• Part Rough Mass

Layup Tool Cost Override

By default, hard tooling cost is calculated based on the following:

• Tool material cost (looked up by the current tool material in the Layup Tool Cost Per Area column of the tool shop Tool Materials table--see Layup Tool Material),

• Tool surface area (see Tool Length, Width, and Area)

• Tool shop variable Region Multiplier.

With this setup option, users can override the default on a per-part basis and specify the tool cost explicitly. See also Tooling for Composites.

Layup Tool Material

By default, tool material is specified by the tool shop variable Default Tool Material Name. Users can override the default on a per-part basis with this setup option. The following options are available:

• Aluminum

• Invar

• Steel

The options are taken from the tool shop Tool Materials table for this process.

This value drives tool cost—see Tooling for Composites.

Automated Fiber Placement Machine Programming Cost

By default, cost to program the layup machine is specified by the cost model variable defaultAFPProgrammingCost (0 in starting point VPEs). Users can override the default on a per-part basis with this setup option.

This value contributes to capital investment. See Automated Fiber Placement Process.

Number of Operators

By default, the number of operators is specified by the machine property Number of Operators. With this setup option, users can override the default on a per-part basis. Number of operators drives labor-dependent process time—see Automated Fiber Placement Process.

Number of Active Spools

This is the number of active spools. By default, it is determined based on machine properties and the material width of that ply (among all the part’s plies) that has the largest value for the material property Material Width. For more information, see Number of Spools in Ply Placing Operation for Automated Fiber Placement. Users can override the default with this setup option.

This value drives layup rate as well as the number of course changes, both of which drive layup time. See Ply Placing Operation for Automated Fiber Placement.

Part Rough Mass

By default, the part rough mass is assumed to be the same as the finish mass—the sum of the ply masses (excluding holes) and core masses (if any). If secondary machining will remove significant mass for a particular part, you can specify the mass prior to removal with this setup option. This can increase the accuracy of handling time estimations for machining.