Generating a Braiding Surface

This task shows you how to generate a mesh used as a braiding surface.
It takes the varying thickness inherent to braiding plies into account.
For multiple braiding paths, you can use Thickness Update in Producibility for Braiding before generating the final braiding surface.
The tow thickness must then be comparable to the mean effective thickness, shown in the producibility dialog box.
Available in Composites Braiding (CPB).
Open the CATCompositesBraiding01.CATPart document.

  1. Click Braiding Surface .
    In the dialog box that opens, the list of plies groups containing braided plies is displayed.
    A name is proposed for the mesh. Edit it if necessary.

  2. Select the plies group containing the braid layers to be used.

  3. A mesh will be created. Specify its parameters.
    • The same mesh topology is used for all layers and its location according to the thickness of underlying braid layers:
      Successive braids are laid down on the surface of the previous braid.
    • Grid mesh is suitable for models without sharp corners.
      The result provides a consistent number of elements around the circumference and a consistent size axially.
      This is a good, regular mesh for finite element analysis.
    • ISO mesh is suitable for models with sharp corners as the mesh is refined at area of high curvature.
      The result is a tri mesh with a consistent size over the whole model.

  4. Enter a Max gradient value to limit the variations of the thickness to generate a smoother mandrel surface.
    Be aware that this does not limit the effect of the slope of the surface.

  5. Click Preview.

  6. Select the Export Layup File check box, and click ... to enter the name and the storage path of the file.

  7. Click OK when done to validate and exit the dialog box.