Filament winding system and method
AssigneeTechnobell d.o.o.
InventorsPeter Gojak, Dusan Draksler, Jadran Jerman, Simon Radovac, Andrej Kavre, Licio Della marna
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Abstract
A filament winding system, components, and methods include a rotatable mandrel and a filament source with a set of filaments for wrapping about the rotatable mandrel and forming a component. The filament winding system can also include a mandrel assembly, a tensioner assembly for the set of filaments, and a cutting assembly.
Claims20
A filament winding system, comprising:
- a rotatable mandrel;
- a filament source comprising a set of filaments for wrapping about the rotatable mandrel;
- a filament guide overlying the rotatable mandrel and directing the set of filaments to wrap about the rotatable mandrel;
- and
- a tensioner assembly, comprising:
- a pair of guide arms defining a serpentine path for the set of filaments;
- a motor operably coupled to the pair of guide arms for rotation thereof;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled to the motor and configured to provide a control signal to the motor to rotate the pair of guide arms to form a predetermined tensile force within the set of filaments.
A cutting assembly for a filament winding system component moving along an axial direction with an axial speed, the cutting assembly comprising:
- a carriage movable along the axial direction at the axial speed;
- a housing coupled to the carriage and carrying a cutting disk;
- a motor driving rotation of the cutting disk;
- an actuator coupled to the housing and driving motion of the housing at least along a direction toward the component;
- a set of sensors providing at least one signal indicative of an operation parameter of at least one of the motor, the cutting disk, or the carriage;
- and
- a controller in signal communication with the set of sensors, the motor, and the actuator, with the controller configured to controllably operate at least one of the motor or the actuator based on the at least one signal from the set of sensors.
A mandrel assembly for a filament winding system, comprising:
- a central shaft extending along an axial direction;
- a set of spacing disks, with each spacing disk of the set of spacing disks comprising:
- a central aperture through which the central shaft extends;
- and
- a set of projecting arms defining a corresponding set of slots;
- a set of beams arranged circumferentially about the set of spacing disks and extending axially through the corresponding set of slots;
- a first fastener mounted to one beam in the set of beams;
- and
- a second fastener mounted to one spacing disk in the set of spacing disks and slidable along a slot in the set of slots to define a variable spacing distance from the central shaft;
- wherein the first fastener is selectively coupled to the second fastener to secure the one beam to the one spacing disk, with the one beam at least partially defining a variable mandrel diameter based on the variable spacing distance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.