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US 11,090,975 B2Granted
Composite wheel rim preform and method of fabricating a composite wheel rim preform
AssigneeLacks Wheel Trim Systems, LLC
InventorColin S. Snyder
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AssigneeLacks Wheel Trim Systems, LLC
InventorColin S. Snyder
Estimating the term…
A preform for fabricating a wheel rim and a method of making a preform is provided. The preform includes a main section and at least one secondary section, each section being formed from composite materials, such as triaxially braided composite material that includes fibers oriented in at least three directions. The main section forms at least part of a lateral section of the preform and the secondary section forms at least part of a radial portion of the preform, the radial portion of the preform being generally perpendicular to the lateral section of the preform. The preform is fabricated from a plurality of composite layers, at least some being custom composite layers having a plurality of axial fibers interwoven intermittently with substantially consistent first and second sets of biased fibers. In some embodiments, the preform is initially fabricated in an intermediate configuration prior to being moved to a final configuration.
A composite preform for a composite wheel rim, the preform comprising a plurality of composite layers, at least some of the composite layers being custom composite layers having a plurality of axial fibers having an axial orientation being interwoven intermittently with a first set of biased fibers having a first biased orientation offset from the axial orientation and a second set of biased fibers having a second biased orientation offset from the axial orientation and the first biased orientation and wherein at least one custom composite layer defining a low-density region, said low-density region being defined by at least one of an omitted axial fiber within said low-density region or an undersized axial fiber within said low-density region and wherein at least one custom composite layer defines a high-density region, said high density region being defined by an oversized fiber within said high density region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.