Apparatus for and method of fibre placement for the formation of fibre preforms
AssigneeHexcel Reinforcements UK Limited
InventorsThomas JAMES, Arthur Lewis SWARBRICK, Ian HAYTO, Dimitrios KARANATSIS, Ian JONES, Tim JONES, Christopher BEARD
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A manufacturing apparatus for constructing a 3D preform from carbon fibre tow (10), in which the tow is deposited by an AFP head (2400) onto a membrane (2204) which is conveyed to a forming cell (114) for diaphragm forming. Active tension control is provided with an offwind (102) combined with an accumulator (106) and compensator (108). The invention also provides a method of manufacture.
Claims15
1-93. (canceled)
A method of manufacture of a preform for a composite moulding operation, comprising the steps of:
- providing a preform having deformable surface in a first shape;
- providing a fibre placement head;
- depositing a fibre onto the deformable surface of the preform, said deformable surface being a flexible membrane in a first shape;
- moving at least one of the fibre placement head and deformable surface relative to one another whilst depositing the fibre from the head onto the deformable surface to form the preform in the first shape;
- and
- deforming the deformable surface, whereby the preform is formed into a second shape, different to the first shape.
An apparatus for the manufacture of a fibre preform for a composite moulding operation, the apparatus comprising:
- a fibre placement head;
- a deformable form;
- a three-dimensional mould shape;
- in which at least one of the fibre placement head and deformable surface is moveable to deposit fibres onto the deformable surface to form a preform in a first shape;
- and,
- in which at least one of the deformable surface and three-dimensional mould form is movable relative to the other such that the preform in the first shape on the deformable surface is deformed into a second shape different to the first shape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.