Ply Builder Documentation

Complete reference for the Composite Laminate Builder — ply properties, material presets, temperature effects, A-matrix computation, and import/export workflows.

Overview

What is the Ply Builder?

The Composite Laminate Builder (Ply Builder) is a standalone tool for designing composite laminate layups ply-by-ply. It serves as the shared foundation for both the BJSFM and CLT analysis tools.

Build your laminate here once, then export it to any analysis tool. The Ply Builder handles material selection, temperature interpolation, allowable conversions, and real-time computation of the extensional stiffness matrix [A] from Classical Lamination Theory.

Ply-by-Ply Design

Build laminates from individual plies with full control over material properties, orientation, and allowable limits.

Material Presets

Built-in aerospace composite material databases with temperature-dependent property interpolation.

Export to Tools

Share laminate definitions between BJSFM and CLT via localStorage, JSON clipboard, or named saves.

How It Connects to BJSFM & CLT

The Ply Builder is designed as a shared laminate designer. Both BJSFM and CLT embed the same LaminateBuilder component and share the same Ply type definition.

Ply Builder → Export → localStorage
BJSFM / CLT → Import → Load ply stack + [A] matrix

You can also save named laminates that persist across sessions, making it easy to switch between different layup configurations.

Shared Laminate Builder

Laminate Properties

Input Allowables Format

Toggle between Strain (με) and Stress (ksi). Values in the stack and limits will convert on-the-fly.

NameET1 (Msi)EC1 (Msi)ET2 (Msi)EC2 (Msi)G12 (Msi)ν12t (in)σ₁t (ksi)σ₁c (ksi)σ₂t (ksi)σ₂c (ksi)σ₁₂s (ksi)r_c Tens (in)r_c Comp (in)K_br TensK_br Comp
Save as Custom Preset

Save the current material properties under a name so you can reuse them without re-entering values.

Quick Add Ply Angle
Bulk Add Plies
@
Ply Stack 0 plies
Use the quick-add buttons above to build your layup stack.
Total Thickness:0 in