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Today, the design and optimization of complex 3D composites structures is managed by taking into account engineering and manufacturing constraints. If the manufacturing process is automated, especially using a robot, these constraints are particularly complex and a difficult compromise needs to be reached. Most of the technology available on the market, dedicated to automated processes offline programming, neglects some of these constraints, or can only highlight the manufacturing defects without any automatic or manual tools to solve the tape course programming issues. A new innovative approach has been developed to include engineering, material and process specifications, to help designers and NC programmers to optimize the final layup program in terms of structural properties and productivity rate. An aerospace case study using the automated fiber placement (AFP) process will be presented to highlights these offline programming capabilities.