Automated gantry-type stitching system

A stitching system comprising:

• a stitching machine including a gantry and a plurality of stitching heads mounted to the gantry;
• a material support table including a plurality of table sections, each table section being independently movable between an extended position and a retracted position;
• means for moving the gantry along the material support table;
• and,
• means for controlling movement of the table sections between the extended and retracted positions in a manner such that a selected table section is moved from the extended position to the retracted position to allow passage of the gantry, and such that the selected table section is moved to the extended position after the gantry has passed.

A method of using a plurality of stitching heads and a plurality of bobbins to make stitches in a preform having a variable thickness and a contoured, compound three-dimensional surface, the method comprising the steps of:

• independently moving each of the stitching heads and each of the bobbin assemblies in a z-direction that is parallel to a z-axis of a three-dimensional coordinate system having x, y, and z-axes, wherein the x and y axes are perpendicular to each other and lie in a first plane, and wherein the z-axis lies in a second plane that is perpendicular to the first plane, in such a manner that each stitching head is moved synchronously with its associated bobbin;
• moving each of the stitching heads and bobbin assemblies together in an x-direction that is parallel to the x-axis;
• and,
• independently controlling each of the stitching heads and each of the bobbin assemblies to make the stitches at stitching points on the preform.