Impact forming of thermoplastic composites
AssigneeTrelleborg Sealing Solutions Germany GmbH
InventorDavid Edgar Hauber
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed embodiments provide automated fiber placement techniques for fabrication of parts made from composite materials. A peening system with multiple pins provides compaction over irregular surfaces, providing superior performance as compared with traditional compaction rollers. The apparatus that carries out the techniques include a tape dispensing system, a heating system, a peening system, a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory contains instructions that when executed by the processor perform the steps of: dispensing a first ply of thermoplastic composite tape over a mandrel; dispensing a second ply of thermoplastic composite tape on the first ply; and peening the second ply onto the first ply, such that the second ply is bonded to the first ply.
Claims24
An apparatus comprising:
- a tape dispensing system configured for dispensing a thermoplastic composite tape;
- a heating system;
- a peening system;
- a processor;
- and
- a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory contains instructions that when executed by the processor perform the steps of:
- dispensing from the tape dispensing system a first ply of thermoplastic composite tape over a mandrel;
- dispensing from the tape dispensing system a second ply of thermoplastic composite tape on the first ply;
- heating the first ply and/or the second ply of the thermoplastic composite tape as the second ply is dispensed onto the first ply;
- and thereafter
- peening directly the second ply onto the first ply using the peening system, such that the second ply is bonded to the first ply.
An apparatus comprising:
- a tape dispensing system;
- a heating system;
- a peening system;
- a processor;
- a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory contains instructions that when executed by the processor perform the steps of:
- dispensing from the tape dispensing system a first ply of thermoplastic composite tape over a mandrel;
- dispensing from the tape dispensing system a second ply of thermoplastic composite tape on the first ply;
- and
- peening the second ply onto the first ply using the peening system, such that the second ply is bonded to the first ply;
- and
- a computer control system, wherein the memory further contains instructions, that when executed by the processor, further performs the step of monitoring a peening impact depth of the dispensed second ply of thermoplastic composite tape.
An apparatus comprising:
- a tape dispensing system;
- a heating system;
- a peening system;
- a processor;
- a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory contains instructions that when executed by the processor perform the steps of:
- dispensing from the tape dispensing system a first ply of thermoplastic composite tape over a mandrel;
- dispensing from the tape dispensing system a second ply of thermoplastic composite tape on the first ply;
- and
- peening the second ply onto the first ply using the peening system, such that the second ply is bonded to the first ply;
- and
- a computer control system, wherein the memory further contains instructions, that when executed by the processor, further performs the step of monitoring a peening impact density of the dispensed second ply of thermoplastic composite tape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.