Fiber placement delivery system with modular cut/add actuators
AssigneeHercules Incorporated
InventorsKeith G. Shupe, Boyd L. Hatch
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A delivery head is adapted for use in a fiber placement system for laying a plurality of tows, forming a band, onto a mandrel to form an irregular shaped object. The delivery head has cut and add sections and includes a plurality of pathways for guiding a respective plurality of tows from an inlet to an outlet of the delivery head. The cut and add section is provided in the form of a module which includes apparatus for selectively actuating any of a plurality of cutting elements and for selectively actuating any of a plurality of advancing devices for advancing respective ones of the tows toward the outlet of the delivery head.
Claims29
A cut/add delivery head adapted for use in a fiber placement system for winding a plurality of resin impregnated tows, forming a winding band, onto a mandrel to form an irregularly shaped object, said cut/add delivery head comprising:
- (a) a plurality of pathways for guiding a respective plurality of resin impregnated tows from an inlet to an outlet of said delivery head;
- (b) means for selectively cutting each of said plurality of tows;
- (c) means for advancing said plurality of tows toward said mandrel;
- and
- (d) a cut/add actuation module comprising (i) means for selectively actuating said means for selectively cutting each of said plurality of tows and (ii) means, in conjunction with said means for advancing, for effecting selective adding each of said plurality of tows, wherein the cut/add actuation module is adapted to be moved away form the twos without requiring movement of the tows, means for cutting, and means for advancing.
A cut/add delivery head adapted for use in a fiber placement system for winding a plurality of resin impregnated tows, forming a winding band, onto a mandrel to form an irregularly shaped object, said cut/add delivery head comprising:
- (a) a plurality of pathways for guiding a respective plurality of resin impregnated tows from an inlet to an outlet of said delivery head;
- (b) means for selectively cutting each of said plurality of tows;
- (c) means for advancing said plurality of tows toward said mandrel, said means for advancing said plurality of tows comprising a roller used to feed the tows to the mandrel driven by a drive module affixed to said head by means of a single quick release knob;
- and
- (d) a cut/add actuation module comprising (i) means for selectively actuating said means for selectively cutting each of said plurality of tows and (ii) means, in conjunction with said means for advancing, for effecting selective adding each of said plurality of tows.
A cut/add delivery head adapted for use in a fiber placement system for winding a plurality of resin impregnated tows, forming a winding band, onto a mandrel to form an irregularly shaped object, said cut/add delivery head comprising:
- (a) a plurality of pathways for guiding a respective plurality of resin impregnated tows from an inlet to an outlet of said delivery head;
- (b) means for selectively cutting each of said plurality of tows;
- (c) means for advancing said plurality of tows toward said mandrel, said means for advancing said plurality of tows comprising a roller used to feed the tows to the mandrel driven by a drive module affixed to said head by means of a single quick release knob;
- and
- (d) a cut/add actuation module comprising (i) means for selectively actuating said means for selectively cutting each of said plurality of tows and (ii) means, in conjunction with said means for advancing, for effecting selective adding each of said plurality of tows, wherein the cut/add actuation module is adapted to be moved away form the tows without requiring movement of the tows.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.