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With knowledge gained from years of developing the flagship fiber placement system, the AFP-XS, Addcomposites (Espoo, Finland), says it is bringing its first multi-tow automated fiber placement (AFP) solution to the market. The plug-n-place solution, like the AFP-XS, converts existing robots into an AFP system, producing aerospace-grade placement accuracies for dry, thermoset and thermoplastic composites layups. Concave parts (winglets, fuselage parts), sandwich parts (engine nacelles and casings) and closed sections (pressure vessel) are applications cited by the company.

Highly adaptable to meet research, development, and manufacturing requirements, the multi-tow AFP system offers high repeatability and placement tolerances, as well as reliable layup over large and complex geometries. Modular heads enable for multi-format and multi-material type preforming; users are able to determine how many tows need to be place in certain locations.

Upcoming capabilities include multi-width operations (two-tow and four-tow tape capabilities) and layup speeds from 500 mm/s to 1,000 mm/s. It will also be available for a monthly subscription.