A method of forming a composite layup on a substrate comprises: moving an automatic fiber placement head over the substrate; using the fiber placement head to lay down multiple, parallel strips of composite tape on the substrate, including staggering the start of at least certain of the tape strips so as to form a contour pattern; and, cutting the ends of all of the tape strips using a single cut. In one case, a model for measuring the external temperature may be derived. The access terminal may determine that a predefined number of consecutive acquisition attempts with a particular neighboring cell have failed. To obtain precise temperature control during varying water volume use, water is directed from the blended outlet of a first water tempering valve into the hot inlet port of a second water tempering valve. Consequently, even if the driving circuits of the liquid crystal display matrix are composed of TFTs, high speed operation of the driving circuits is possible without increasing power consumption. The apparatus and associated method cleans and pressure tests a tube by engaging a tube between the feed header interface and the drain header interface and maintaining said engagement while sequentially flowing a cleaning fluid through the inner diameter of the hollow tube, pressurizing a static fluid within the hollow tube, and releasing fluid from the tube.