3D thermoplastic composite pultrusion system and method

A method of creating a 3D thermoplastic composite pultrusion with a 3D thermoplastic pultrusion system including a pultrusion die, and one or more sets of 3D thermoplastic forming machines having a plurality of motion control CNC rotational motors and CNC actuators operatively coupled to the motion control CNC rotational motors, bearings that the motion control CNC rotational motors pivot the actuators about and hold the actuators in position during a consolidation process, and one or more pairs of shapeable and flexible actively chilled bands, each pair of flexible chilled bands being capable of applying pressure at a specific thickness to a fiber thermoplastic composite material pultrusion from opposite sides, comprising the following for a given cross-section of the fiber thermoplastic composite material:

• consolidating and heating the fiber thermoplastic composite material by compressing and heating the fiber thermoplastic composite material with the thermoplastic pultrusion die system, simultaneous forming and chilling the pultruded heated fiber thermoplastic composite material into a 3D thermoplastic composite pultrusion having varying surface contours in both a pultrusion direction and 90 degrees to the pultrusion direction by simultaneously chilling the pultruded heated fiber thermoplastic composite material and applying pressure with the one or more pairs of flexible actively chilled bands by pivoting the actuators about the bearings using the motion control CNC rotational motors and holding the actuators in position, the one or more pairs of flexible actively chilled bands programmed to be displaced in a manner such that the composite is chilled at a specific thickness assuring chilling at sufficient pressure, wherein the 3D thermoplastic pultrusion system includes a pultrusion gripper mechanism capable of CNC movement and gripping the chilled thermoplastic composite having various changing shapes in the pultrusion direction, and the method further comprising gripping the chilled thermoplastic composite having various changing shapes in the pultrusion direction with the pultrusion gripper mechanism to incrementally advance the fiber thermoplastic composite material and the chilled thermoplastic composite.