An overview of current research in automated fibre placement defect rework
Stig McArthur, Jörn Mehnen, Catherine Yokan, Iain Bomphray
Abstract
Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) is receiving increasing attention from academia and industry. This is due to its widespread application in major sectors such as the automotive, marine, aerospace, renewables, and rail industry. AFP defects pose a significant barrier to efficient part throughput due to their lengthy processing time in inspection and rework. While there is a plethora of research on the causes and effects of various defect types, the subsequent reworking of these defects has not been thoroughly investigated. Although some papers have examined manual rework, their scope is limited. Insights from manual hand layup and similar methods can be applied to this context. This article presents the first comprehensive review of the academic literature in the field of defect rework, alongside an analysis of rework process experiments conducted by the authors to provide insight into current industry best practices. Following this, the article focuses on analysing the rework process in AFP and proposes guidelines and best practices. It emphasises the need for further research in this area, along with the findings of other researchers, to demystify the rework activity and inspire new investigations. Such research can offer valuable insights into enhancing reworking techniques and exploring automation possibilities. Automation can assist in manual reworking or even eliminate the need for it entirely, thereby reducing manufacturing time. The suggested directions for future work include developing automated rework processes to achieve near-full automation of AFP.