AddPath Composite Material Production Path Planning and Simulation Software

General Introduction

AddPath is a path-planning, simulation, and real-time monitoring software developed by Addcomposites specifically for the automated production of composite materials. At its core, it serves as the digital backbone for composite-molding processes, delivering precision and efficiency in fiber placement and winding through customized path planning, virtual simulation, and real-time production monitoring. It is the essential companion software for Addcomposites’ full range of molding equipment and is also compatible with other leading automated composite-molding systems. By overcoming the limitations of traditional path-planning software—such as complex operation, poor adaptability, and lack of integration with production equipment—AddPath deeply incorporates the unique characteristics of composite-molding processes. It enables end-to-end digitalization across the entire workflow, from design-file import to path generation, simulation validation, production monitoring, and data traceability, providing a one-stop digital solution for composite-material R&D and manufacturing.

The core design of AddPath revolves around “process adaptability and user-friendly operation.” It features proprietary path-planning algorithms tailored to various composite-material forming processes, such as AFP and filament winding, which automatically generate optimal layup or winding paths based on the component’s CAD geometry, material properties, and process requirements. The system also supports manual adjustments to meet customized production needs. Its virtual simulation capability enables pre-production verification of path feasibility by simulating the layup or winding process, thereby identifying potential issues such as path interference and fiber-strap stretching in advance. This helps prevent defective parts and equipment damage during actual production, significantly shortening the time-to-market from design to manufacturing. In addition, the real-time monitoring function allows for the continuous acquisition and visual display of equipment operating parameters and process variables throughout production, enabling operators to remotely track production status and promptly address any operational anomalies.

As a lightweight, highly adaptable industrial software solution, AddPath features a user-friendly interface that requires no specialized programming expertise. With just brief training, both R&D personnel and production operators can quickly become proficient. Moreover, AddPath seamlessly integrates with the entire Addcomposites family of forming equipment—including AFP-X, AFP-XS, and the Add Filament Winding System—enabling real-time data exchange and precise command delivery. Currently, AddPath is widely deployed across composite-material R&D institutions and manufacturing enterprises worldwide, serving as a core digital tool for automated composite-material production. Its applications span aerospace, defense, materials research and development, and high-end equipment manufacturing, providing robust software support to help companies achieve digital and intelligent upgrades in composite-material manufacturing.

Working Principle

AddPath operates on the principles of computer-aided design (CAD), kinematic simulation, and industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies, deeply integrating the underlying process rules of composite-material forming. This enables end-to-end digital control across the entire workflow—from design to production—with six core modules: model import and parsing, path planning, virtual simulation, production integration, real-time monitoring, and data traceability. First, the software supports the import of mainstream CAD file formats (such as STEP, IGES, and SAT). Upon import, it automatically parses the component’s geometric model, extracting key geometric parameters—including dimensions, curvature, and wall thickness—to provide the foundational data required for subsequent path planning.

Path planning is the core component of the software. Based on the user’s selected forming process (AFP or filament winding), material properties (tow width, tension, and adhesion), and production requirements (layup/winding direction, ply thickness, and fiber orientation), the software automatically generates the optimal path plan through proprietary process algorithms. It also supports manual local adjustments, additions, and deletions to the path, thereby meeting customized production needs. For complex geometric components, the software employs an adaptive path-planning algorithm that dynamically adjusts the layup or winding path in response to changes in the component’s curvature, ensuring tight contact and uniform placement of the tow. Once the path is generated, the system proceeds to the virtual simulation stage, where, based on kinematic principles, it simulates the entire operation of the industrial robot or forming equipment as it follows the planned path. The simulation identifies potential issues such as equipment interference, tow stretching or breakage, and overlapping or gaps in the layup. If any problems are detected, the software automatically issues an alert and provides optimization recommendations, enabling users to refine the path based on the simulation results until the path passes verification.

After simulation verification is completed, the software transmits path data and process parameters via industrial Ethernet to the control systems of the forming equipment, enabling production coordination and allowing the equipment to execute automated lay-up or winding operations in accordance with the software’s instructions. During production, the software leverages industrial IoT technologies to collect real-time operational parameters (such as motion speed and position), process parameters (such as tension, temperature, and pressure), and production status, which are then visually displayed on the operator interface for real-time monitoring. If parameter limits are exceeded or equipment malfunctions are detected, the software immediately issues an alert and can simultaneously send a pause command to the equipment control system, thereby ensuring production safety and product quality. Upon completion of the operation, the software automatically records all data from the entire production process, generates a production report, and enables end-to-end data traceability, providing robust data support for subsequent process optimization, product quality analysis, and production management.

Advantages and Key Features

As the digital core tool for composite material manufacturing, AddPath’s key advantages lie in its deep process-specific adaptation, end-to-end digitalization, user-friendly operation, and high equipment compatibility, while also incorporating a range of technical features that closely align with R&D and production needs. The software’s most distinctive attribute is its deep process-specific adaptation: it has developed proprietary path-planning and simulation algorithms tailored to composite-forming processes such as AFP and filament winding, rather than relying on general-purpose motion-path software. This enables precise alignment with the process requirements of composite manufacturing, resulting in path plans that are more closely aligned with actual production needs, thereby effectively enhancing product quality and production efficiency. Another standout advantage of AddPath is its end-to-end digitalization, which integrates the entire workflow—from CAD model import and path planning, through virtual simulation and production integration, to real-time monitoring and data traceability—thereby breaking down information silos between design and production, significantly shortening the design-to-production cycle, and ensuring full traceability of production data to support process optimization.

User-friendliness is a key feature of this software, thanks to its intuitive, visual interface. All functional modules are designed with graphical icons, eliminating the need for specialized programming skills or extensive process expertise. With just brief training, both R&D personnel and production operators can quickly become proficient, significantly lowering the barrier to software adoption. High equipment compatibility is another core advantage of AddPath: it seamlessly integrates with the entire Addcomposites line of forming systems—including AFP-X, AFP-XS, the Add Filament Winding System, and the AddCell—enabling real-time data exchange and precise command delivery. Moreover, it is compatible with mainstream industrial robots from KUKA, ABB, and other manufacturers, as well as composite-material forming equipment from various brands, thereby expanding the software’s applicability and enhancing its cost-effectiveness.

In terms of path-planning accuracy, AddPath employs high-precision geometric analysis and adaptive path-planning algorithms, enabling precise trajectory planning for complex geometric components. This ensures positional accuracy and consistent fiber orientation during fiber placement and winding, thereby enhancing the mechanical performance of composite parts. The virtual-simulation capability delivers highly realistic results, accurately replicating equipment motion trajectories and operational processes, allowing potential production issues to be identified in advance. This helps prevent defective products and equipment damage in actual manufacturing, ultimately reducing production costs. The real-time monitoring feature provides visualized display and remote oversight of production parameters, enabling operators to monitor production status from the office, promptly address anomalies, and improve production-management efficiency. In addition, AddPath boasts excellent scalability: the software supports customized development of functional modules, allowing enterprises to add proprietary features tailored to their specific production needs and management requirements. It also integrates seamlessly with existing MES/ERP systems, facilitating seamless data exchange and interoperability, thus helping companies achieve digitalized production management.

Application Areas and Use Cases

AddPath, the core digital software for automated composite manufacturing, is primarily deployed in R&D testing, process validation, small-batch production, and large-scale mass production of composite materials, serving a wide range of industries including materials research institutions, aerospace R&D centers, defense and military-industrial sectors, shipbuilding and offshore engineering, high-end equipment manufacturing, and automotive components. In materials research institutions and universities, AddPath is mainly used for path planning and simulation testing of novel composite-material forming processes, providing digital support for the development of new materials and new processes and enabling rapid verification of process feasibility. In aerospace R&D centers, it is employed for path design and simulation of new composite-material components for aircraft and spacecraft, facilitating a seamless transition from design to production and shortening the R&D cycle. In the defense and military-industrial sector, it supports path planning for customized composite-material components of weapons and equipment, ensuring high-precision forming and meeting the high-performance requirements of such systems. In high-end equipment manufacturing and the automotive-components industry, AddPath is utilized for large-scale production path planning and real-time monitoring of composite-material components, thereby guaranteeing production efficiency and consistent product quality.

AddPath boasts a wealth of global application cases. The French IRMA institute, while deploying the AFP-XS system, has expressed strong recognition of AddPath’s capabilities, noting that the software features a user-friendly interface that significantly streamlines ply-placement programming and simulation workflows. It enables rapid path planning for composite-material prototype fabrication and for test specimens, thereby becoming a core digital tool for the institute’s composite-material R&D efforts. Meanwhile, the European Compositadour institute pairs AddPath with the AFP-XS system to conduct research on multi-material, multi-process composite-molding techniques; the software precisely matches path-planning requirements across different materials and processes, while its simulation functionality effectively identifies process-related issues in advance, boosting R&D efficiency and driving innovation in composite-material manufacturing processes. In the Netherlands, the SAM|XL institute has integrated AddPath into its AddCell custom robotic cell, enabling path planning, simulation, and real-time monitoring for composite-component production. The software seamlessly interfaces with existing equipment and management systems, achieving interconnectedness of production data and elevating the level of digitalization in production management. Domestically, an aerospace-components manufacturer has adopted AddPath for mass-production path planning of aircraft composite components; the software’s adaptive path-planning algorithm addresses the challenges of routing complex parts, resulting in a 30% increase in production efficiency and a 25% reduction in defect rates, making it a cornerstone solution for the company’s digital transformation in composite-material manufacturing.