Fiber Patch Placement Technology

Flexible lay-up technology for complex high-performance composites enabling a fully automated, quality-controlled 3D lay-up.

SAMBA Pro robotic gripper in action handling materials

How Fiber Patch Placement works

Automated cutting, handling, and placement of fiber patches

Precision-driven 3D composite manufacturing with full process control

Fiber Patch Placement (FPP) is an automated additive manufacturing technology for producing geometrically complex fiber composite components. It expands the possibilities of automated fiber placement by allowing greater flexibility in design, material usage, and component geometry.

The technology supports a wide range of materials, including carbon fiber prepreg systems, glass fiber prepregs, adhesive films, and dry fibers, making it suitable for various high-performance composite applications.

What makes Fiber Patch Placement different

Patch-based lay-up instead of continuous fiber placement

Unlike conventional fiber placement methods, Fiber Patch Placement works with defined fiber patches. These patches are automatically cut from tape material and precisely placed using two coordinated robots and a flexible patch gripper.

The patch size, orientation, and placement sequence are adapted to the shape and complexity of the component, enabling optimized material usage and consistent laminate quality. Since each patch placement is individually controlled, the process offers a high level of accuracy, repeatability, and quality assurance throughout the entire lay-up cycle.

How Fiber Patch Placement works

Automated cutting, handling, and placement of fiber patches

The Fiber Patch Placement process follows a structured, automated workflow. Fiber material is processed into patches that are placed step by step onto the tool surface. The coordinated robot system ensures precise positioning, even for complex 3D geometries, supporting reliable and reproducible composite manufacturing.

SAMBA gripper

Advantages

Your benefits with FPP

Digitized Process chain

20% – 60% Cost & time savings

100% In-process raw material control

Multi-material Lay-up capability

The Fiber Patch Placement process

Five steps from digital design to finished laminate

  1. Design the laminate
    The laminate is designed in ARTIST STUDIO based on the existing CAD data of the component.
  2. Generate production data
    Robot programs are created offline within ARTIST STUDIO. This ensures accurate, safe, and predictable execution of the automated lay-up process.
  3. Configure the automation system
    The generated robot programs are transferred to the SAMBA system, where production parameters are defined according to the component requirements.
  4. Prepare robots and materials
    The appropriate end-effector is mounted on the robot, and the selected fiber material is loaded for production.
  5. Start the automated lay-up
    Once initiated via the SAMBA system, the lay-up process runs fully automatically, delivering a controlled and repeatable composite structure.

FPP process overview at the example of SAMBA Pro

SAMBA process real fiber patch placement

Efficient and scalable composite manufacturing

Consistent throughput and adaptable process parameters

Efficient lay-up rates are achieved through defined and adjustable process parameters. These parameters can be adapted to different applications and production goals. All SAMBA systems follow a consistent throughput calculation approach, enabling reliable production planning and scalability.

 

fiber patch placement lay up rate

“Fiber Patch Placement technology enables the manufacturing automation for complex laminate architectures which was not possible before with any other technology. Although the patch based approach breaks with the composite design paradigm of using only continuous fiber reinforcements, the material equivalence of FPP laminates has been shown in the context of aerospace design allowables. In my view, this opens up the application scope for aerospace structural components.”

Dr. Shunichi Bando

President & CEO of B.I.TEC, Co. Ltd, Japan

You got questions?

Contact us to explore the benefits of Fiber Patch Placement for your specific component and production process. We offer a cost-free evaluation and economic analysis for your application with FPP. Looking forward to hearing from you!

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