From virtual to actual assisted tape placement − application of the Frenet frame to robotic steering trajectories

A novel computational tool is presented that integrates the design and manufacturing of variable-angle tow composites for automated tape placement, facilitating the creation of tow-steered trajectories for cut-outs. Steering movements of the robot are planned and executed within a MATLAB virtual environment via short paths and linear commands. Leveraging piecewise-continuous clothoid splines and the Frenet frame, the tool furnishes crucial details on trajectory vectors, steering angles, and curvatures. Via four integrated modules, the user can define input parameters such as the robot’s actuators and structural geometry, allowing for the subsequent visualisation of the steered trajectories as well as the generation of the manufacturing code. Finally, to assess the potential and limitations of this methodology, the file containing all details is integrated into the Kuka KR L240-2 robot model to continuously steer a carbon fibre/PEEK tape around an elliptical cut-out in a composite panel using laser-assisted tape placement, representative of an access hole in an aircraft wing.