Flat patterns and roll width
Each ply needs a flat shape to cut, and it must fit the roll. AddPly unfolds flat, cylindrical and straight-ramp plies exactly; a ply curved two ways needs a drape-derived cut pattern, which AddPly's hosted drape study can produce.
Predict · at 1:13 in the video
So the ply is wider than the roll. What now?
You split it into pieces, with a planned joint between them, or you change to a wider material. And that's your call, not the tool's. AddPly says so: splitting it is an authoring decision, and nothing has been changed for you.
This course is our own. These books go deeper.
- Basic Mechanics of Laminated Composite Plates, A. T. Nettles, NASA Reference Publication 1351, 1994
- Mechanics of Composite Materials, R. M. Jones, Taylor & Francis, 2nd ed., 1999
- Engineering Mechanics of Composite Materials, I. M. Daniel & O. Ishai, Oxford University Press, 2nd ed., 2006
- Design and Analysis of Composite Structures, C. Kassapoglou, Wiley, 2nd ed., 2013
- Composite Materials Handbook (CMH-17), Volume 3, Rev. G, CMH-17, SAE International, 2012
The course designs in AddPly, our browser app for laminate design: regions, ply stacks with live stacking-rule checks, thickness, mass and the ply book, plus hosted drape studies and linear FEA with maximum-stress screening, within their stated limits. The lessons teach the theory behind those on our own simulations, so you can judge the results. AddPly needs an Addcomposites sign-in.
Simulations in this lesson are our own. Ply data come from the datasheet or textbook named on screen; where a number rests on an assumption, the video says so.
