US 11,724,437 B2Granted

Bending method for bending a composite bar

AssigneeSolidian GmbH

InventorThomas Bischoff

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Abstract

A bending method and a bending device, wherein a composite bar comprising a bundle of reinforcing fibres embedded in a polymer matrix is bent at a bending point. To make it bendable, the composite bar is heated locally at the bending point using an ultrasonic device with a sonotrode. After the bending point has been heated, an infeeding movement between the composite bar and the sonotrode is used to deform a region of the composite bar at the bending point to create a deformed portion of which the outer dimensions are different from the outer dimensions of the bar portions of the composite bar adjoining the bending point. The two bar portions are then moved or angled away in relation to one another, and so the composite bar is curved at the bending point. Once the desired bending has been achieved, the composite bar is cured at the bending point.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A bending method for bending at least one composite bar (11) at a bending location (21) that comprises a reinforcement fiber bundle (15) with multiple reinforcement fibers (14) embedded in a cured plastic matrix, the method comprising the following steps:

arranging a sonotrode (24) of an ultrasonic device (22) at the bending location (21), wherein two bar sections (11a) of the at least one composite bar (11) that adjoin the bending location (21) extend in a first spatial direction (x),
heating a plastic matrix (M) of the at least one composite bar (11) at the bending location (21) by coupling ultrasonic waves in the at least one composite bar (11) at the bending location (21),
prior to bending the at least one composite bar (11), deforming the at least one composite bar (11) for formation of a deformed section (37) at the bending location (21) by an infeed movement between the sonotrode (24) and the at least one composite bar (11) in a second spatial direction (y) that is orientated radial to a bend that is to be created at the bending location (21),
bending the at least one composite bar (11) at the bending location (21),
curing the plastic matrix (M) at the bending location (21).

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/643,416Filed 24 Aug 2018
Priority: DE 10 2017 120 143.21 Sep 2017
Published: US 2020/0189174 A118 Jun 2020
Granted: 15 Aug 2023
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

B29C 53/84
Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations: heating or cooling
B29C 53/083
Of tubes or other profiled members: bending longitudinally, i.e. modifying the curvature of the tube axis
B29C 53/086
Of tubes or other profiled members: bending radially, i.e. deformig the cross-section of the tube
B29C 70/52
For producing articles of indefinite length, e.g. prepregs, sheet moulding compounds [SMC] or cross moulding compounds [XMC]: pultrusion, i.e.…