Robot needle-punching path planning for complex surface preforms

The advent of three-dimensional (3D) needle-punched preforms has presented the composites community with some novel options in materials' selection. 3D flat fabrics and fully special shaped preforms have been trialed with considerable success for engineering applications. This paper presents the path planning method of a six joints needle-punching robot for producing high performance fiber preforms for advanced composites. The method has been developed and validated through robot needle-punching motion simulation and experiment on a complex surface preform. It has been demonstrated that the robot needle-punching path planning for complex surface preforms can be achieved. It is noteworthy that the presented robot needle-punching path planning method can easily be adjusted to different preforms with different shapes, dimensions and needling distribution. Moreover, the method can also be applied to robot tufting processes and composite z-pin process.