Manufacturing apparatus and method of manufacturing a tow prepreg

A tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus configured to manufacture a tow prepreg by impregnating with a resin a fiber bundle in which a plurality of fibers are bundled together, comprising:

• an impregnated roller capable of rotating at a constant speed;
• a resin supply unit configured to supply the resin to a roller surface of the impregnated roller;
• a transport mechanism configured to bring the fiber bundle into contact with the resin on the roller surface and thereby form the tow prepreg while the fiber bundle is being transported;
• a fineness acquisition unit arranged upstream of the impregnated roller and configured to acquire as a fineness acquisition value a fineness, which is defined by a mass per unit length of the fiber bundle prior to impregnation with the resin during conveyance thereof by the transport mechanism;
• a blade disposed between the resin supply unit and a position at which the fiber bundle is brought into contact with the resin on the roller surface;
• and
• one or more processors,
• wherein the one or more processors cause the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus to control a resin supply amount of the resin supplied to the roller surface by the resin supply unit,
• wherein the one or more processors control the resin supply amount of the resin supplied from the resin supply unit to the roller surface based on the fineness acquisition value of the fiber bundle prior to the impregnation with the resin, in a manner so that a resin content of the tow prepreg becomes a target resin content,
• wherein the blade faces the roller surface and is configured to level a thickness of the resin on the roller surface before the fiber bundle is brought into contact with the resin on the roller surface, and
• wherein the one or more processors adjust a distance between the blade and the roller surface in accordance with the resin supply amount.