Developing a camera-based measuring system to feedback control the fibre orientation for the braiding process of CFRP

Abstract Quality control systems are inevitable in the production of safety-relevant, textile composites. In the industry, predominantly optical measuring procedures, so-called Machine Vision Systems (MVS), became generally accepted. A critical quality feature of textile structures is the carrying capacity of loads, which requires an orientation of the fibre in the direction of the load. To control the braiding angle, which determines the orientation of the fibre in braids, a feedback control system can be used. The deviation from the target angle is directly correlated to the time span between the formation and the measurement of the braiding angle, the so-called dead band. Therefore, the objective is to reduce the dead band by measuring the braiding angle with a MVS near the braiding point. This work describes and evaluates an approach to minimize the dead band by utilising a mathematical description of the braiding process to determine the origin of the braiding angle while tackling the difficulty of the convergence zone in the braiding process.