Laying head and apparatus and method for manufacturing a three-dimensional pre-form for a structural component from a fiber composite material

A laying head, comprising:

• an inlet configured to feed in a plurality of dry rovings, each dry roving having a roving width in the range of 5 to 100 mm and a roving thickness in the range of 0.2 to 0.6 mm;
• a fiber conveying device configured to simultaneously and mutually-independently convey, in a fiber supplying direction, the rovings fed-in via the inlet;
• a nozzle having a slit-shape through gap configured to apply a medium onto, and to embed the medium in, the plurality of dry rovings, the nozzle being arranged downstream of the fiber conveying device in the fiber supplying direction;
• a guiding path configured to guide the rovings into the slit-shape through gap of the nozzle,
• a cooling device disposed downstream of the nozzle;
• an intermediate conveying device disposed downstream of the nozzle in the fiber supplying direction;
• a fiber-cutting device disposed downstream of the cooling device, the fiber-cutting device being configured to cut the plurality of rovings after the medium has been applied thereto;
• a heating device disposed downstream of the fiber-cutting device in the fiber supplying direction, the heating device comprising an end heater that is configured to reheat the medium embedded in the rovings;
• an outlet arranged downstream of the heating device in the fiber supplying direction, the outlet being configured to simultaneously lay the plurality of rovings on a workpiece carrier to manufacture a three-dimensional preform;
• and
• a pressing roller disposed adjacent to the outlet and the heating device;
• wherein:
• the slit-shaped through gap has a nozzle width extending in a slit plane (l-b) that is perpendicular to the fiber supplying direction and a nozzle height extending in a thickness direction (d) that is perpendicular to the slit plane (l-b);
• the nozzle width is equal to one of:
• (i) the roving width plus a margin of 0.025 to 0.2 mm in case a plurality of slit-shaped through gaps are respectively provided for the plurality of dry rovings, or (ii) the total roving width of all of the plurality of dry rovings plus a margin of 0.025 to 0.2 mm in case the plurality of dry rovings pass collectively through one slit-shaped through gap;
• the nozzle height is equal to the roving thickness of the dry rovings in the thickness direction (d) plus a margin of 0.025 to 0.2 mm;
• and
• the nozzle comprises a channel and dispenser system having a nozzle gap configured to lead the medium to the slit-shaped through gap, the nozzle gap having a gap width equal to the nozzle width plus an open width in the fiber supplying direction selected from the range of 0.025 to 1 mm.