About Plies in Composites Braiding

Below are listed some specifics of plies used in Composites Braiding.

  • In braiding, the ply must be tubular, and limited by two boundaries. Composites Braiding verifies that the ply surface has a tubular geometry, and that two contours exist and limit the ply.
  • The braided ply references a braided material that contains the nominal properties of the braid for a typical default status, defined as a nominal braid angle of 45 degrees, and a braid separation equal to the widths of the braid tows.
    • Only the thickness has a meaning for the braided material. Other properties can be left at their default values.
    • The constant nominal thickness of the braided material is used to visualize section and thickness update.
    • The braid and axial tows of the braided material are referenced directly from the producibility parameters.
    • The braiding simulation defines the continuously varying status of the braided material.
    • The varying thickness is used to generate the detailed thicknesses, and thus the offset mandrel datum surface.
    • The orientation defined for the current ply is the default braid angle, usually 45 degrees. You can create a "Braided" orientation, with a specific color, for an easy recognition of braided plies.
  • The X-axis of the rosette defines the nominal centerline of the mandrel, used to define the start and end of the braid tube. The XY plane defines the reference plane to define the twisting of the mandrel.