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The backbone of Cevotec’s (Munich, Germany) fiber patch placement (FPP) technology for the dome reinforcement of composite pressure vessels is the company’s CAD-CAM software Artist Studio. Through this, Cevotec says it supports the whole virtual product development. The module Patch Artist in particular facilitates engineers to create an optimized FPP laminate. Patches are automatically created and distributed along defined curves which cover the whole surface of the component.

The dome areas of pressure vessels are characterized by curves with small radii which can make it difficult to achieve a homogeneous wall thickness with FPP, Cevotec says. Typical, FPP-specific rectangular patches cause overlaps at the inner side and gaps at the outer side of the curve due to their shape. The result is a not completely uniform thickness distribution. This characteristic is usually not attributed with a significant change in mechanical properties, but it can still be unacceptable for some application scenarios.

Cevotec’s software team is currently integrating trapezoid-shaped patches into Patch Artist. With this new function, it is reported that a more even distribution of patches along tight curves is possible. Due to their shape and the option to freely choose the angle, overlaps and gaps are reduced, resulting in an even thickness throughout the laminate.

The software uses a dedicated algorithm to distribute the trapezoid patches evenly on the curve. Previously, Cevotec says it already added  which enables the calculation of the optimal overlaps and gaps between the patches by shifting the patches along the curve. Combining the new trapezoid-shaped patch feature with the support for closed curves now reportedly enables an even distribution of the patches which results in an optimized FPP laminate.

The trapezoid patch feature is still in beta-mode and will be fully integrated in Artist Studio in the course of 2022.