PAM-COMPOSITEScan help engineers ensure that their manufacturing chain creates a composite fuselage. (Image courtesy of ESI Group.)
The latest release focuses on optimization tools and tools that can limit the bridging effect observed in thermoformed organo-sheet components.
The software brings the simulation technology from ESI that can be used to optimize the design of composite parts(PAM-FORM, PAM-RTM and PAM-DISTORTION) into a single user interface.
The tool helps these engineers determine how defects in a composite part are introduced during the manufacturing process. Engineers model their production floor environments and composite materials within the software to improve the design of parts.
Some of the composite manufacturing processes that PAM-COMPOSITES can simulate include:
- Draping
- Thermoforming
- Liquid composites molding (LCM)
- Resin transfer molding (RTM)
- Curing
In the latest release, the software has added some new robot draping processes to the aforementioned list, namely automated fiber placement (AFP) and automated tape layering (ATL).
The current release also includes an optimization tool that incorporates design of experiments (DOE) functionality into PAM-COMPOSITES. The tool will assess various parameters that govern the manufacturing and materials within the composite. Engineers can then find out which parameters to focus on and inform their part optimization process.
Engineers can also benefit from PAM-COMPOSITES new Die Spotting functions, which can morph an existing tool so that it will improve the contact with the part. By improving a die’s contact to the part, the tool can limit the bridging effects when working with thermoformed organo-sheet components, which can be affected by resin migration and limited compaction. The tool can also improve the distribution of fibers and resin within the composite.