Layuptrace: Composite Lab

Lay out the schedule, then bag it. Layuptrace walks each composite part through five stages on one board: Plan, Layup, Bag, Cure and Inspect. Drag a card from column to column as the part moves across the shop, and open it to work the stage it is in. Plan the laminate in a ply table. Add rows, pick the orientation from 0, 45, −45 and 90 or dial in any angle, and choose the fabric: carbon UD 150, 3K twill 200, E-glass plain 200, biaxial ±45, S-glass, aramid, or your own areal weight. Type a stacking sequence such as [0/±45/90]s and the table fills itself. Set the resin content you expect from your process and read the results as you edit: cured thickness per ply and for the stack, fibre volume fraction, dry fibre mass, resin absorbed, cured part mass for the laminate area, and how much epoxy, vinyl ester or polyester to mix, split into part A and part B by the system's ratio. The stack is checked for symmetry and balance while you type. Unpaired +45 plies, mirror plies that do not match and long runs of one angle are named in plain words so you fix them before you cut fabric. Lay up against the clock. Mix a batch, start the pot-life timer, and check off each ply as it goes into the mold. Bag it and prove it. Work the bagging checklist from peel ply to pump, then run the leak-down test: record the gauge at t0, let the hold timer run with the pump isolated, record the gauge again and read the verdict. Read the gauge in inHg, mbar or kPa, and set the rule to match your shop: minimum vacuum, allowed drop and hold time, shown in the unit you chose. Cure by the stages. Load a room-temperature cure, a 60 °C post-cure or an oven ramp, or write your own stages with a target temperature and time. Start each stage, watch elapsed and remaining, log the thermometer reading, complete it and step to the next. Inspect and conclude. Log dry spots, voids, bridging, wrinkles, pinholes, delamination and resin-rich areas with location, size and severity. Choose accept, rework or scrap, write the conclusion and sign it with a timestamp. Every part, ply, reading and timestamp is kept in a notebook file inside the app and is there when you come back. Four worked examples are included, so you can see a checked ply table, a leak-down waiting on its hold reading, a live cure and an inspection with its rework conclusion drafted and ready to sign, before you add your first mold.