preforming program can be exported to the manufacturing cell. During the generation of the machine program, the software optimizes the positioning process internally to reach high lay-up quality and productivity. The software takes into account the draping of the end-effector on the tool in order to correct the lay-up position and ensure a low positioning tolerance. The coordination of the robot movements and lay-up position is adapted to ensure high process speed through minimized robot movements. Conclusion Illustration of lay-up simulation of the reinforcements, the fibres can be directed along given splines on the ply surface. The guidelines will define the local orientation of the patches. It is possible to define one or more splines as guidelines. With more splines provided, the patch occupancy will be interpolated to avoid gaps and with regards to maximum strength and to homogenous ply thickness. By following the outer contour with the guidelines, the material waste is minimized. defines the lay-up position of each patch as well as the motion of the pick-and-place and tool manipulation robots. The manufacturing process is then simulated to validate the calculated robot motions and detect potential collisions. Alternative motions can be created if necessary. Once verified, the The latest FPP technology has a high potential to improve the manufacture of complex geometry high-performance CFRP parts. Costs can be kept low through the use of inexpensive fibre material and automated robotic production. The characteristic patch-by-patch stacking process offers many ways to customize part properties while the engineers are supported by the custom-designed software. The ongoing development of system technology will further increase productivity in the future and thus open up new application fields. n Offline programming The machine configuration is simulated in the software, where the preform tool and patch data can be imported and positioned. Based on this information, the program FPP bicycle saddle 110 jec composites magazine / No87 March 2014 More information: www.lcc.mw.tum.de Contact: michl@lcc.mw.tum.dehttp://www.lcc.mw.tum.de http://www.porcher-ind.com