A deformable automatic yarn-laying pressure roller mechanism

Abstract

This invention relates to a deformable automatic filament placement roller mechanism, belonging to the field of composite material molding and manufacturing technology. The deformable automatic filament placement roller mechanism includes a support mechanism, a roller mechanism, and a hydraulic system. The support mechanism includes a support plate and side plates, with one end of each side plate slidably connected to the support plate. Two side plates are arranged opposite each other. The roller mechanism is installed at the other end of each side plate and includes an elastic rubber wheel and a connecting head. The connecting head is installed at both ends of the elastic rubber wheel and connected to the corresponding side plate. The hydraulic system includes a hydraulic cylinder and piston rods. The hydraulic cylinder is installed on the support plate, and two piston rods are arranged opposite each other at both ends of the hydraulic cylinder, with their ends connected and fixed to the two side plates. When the automatic filament placement roller mechanism is started under the control of a software program, the hydraulic system controls the movement of the side plates, thereby compressing or stretching the elastic rubber wheel. This invention has the following advantages: 1. It maintains high filament placement efficiency; 2. It improves the filament placement forming effect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a deformable automatic fiber placement roller mechanism, belonging to the field of composite material molding and manufacturing technology. Background Technology

[0002] Carbon fiber composites have been widely used in aerospace products due to their advantages such as light weight, low deformation, dimensional stability, and good thermal conductivity. The molding and manufacturing of carbon fiber composites often involves laying carbon fibers onto a mold. This can be done manually or using automated equipment, such as automatic fiber placement machines or automatic tape placement machines. These machines offer greater efficiency and uniformity and are increasingly widely used. Compared to automatic tape placement machines, automatic fiber placement machines are often used for laying and molding more complex curved surfaces. Their core component is the automatic fiber placement head, such as... Figure 1 As shown, it includes a fiber layup head support 1, a carbon fiber bundle 2, a fiber cutter 3, a heater 4, a roller 5, and a mold 6. The pressure roller is often a cylindrical roller, and the outer layer of the roller is made of silicone material with a certain degree of elasticity.

[0003] Since automated fiber placement primarily involves laying carbon fiber prepreg on complex curved surfaces, these surfaces typically have convex and concave portions. When laying on the concave portions, if the rollers do not fit well against the concave areas, a bridging phenomenon (commonly known as material bridging) can easily occur. Figure 2 As shown. Cylindrical rollers are generally used for filament placement, and the placement direction is often multi-directional (typically 0°, 90°, -45°, and 45°). The factors affecting bridging in filament placement are determined by two factors: the diameter of the cylindrical roller and the distance between the two ends of the cylinder (called the column height). Considering the efficiency of filament placement, reducing the roller diameter does not affect the number of filament bundles placed, while a larger column height results in more filament bundles being placed; the column height is often greater than the diameter. When the roller diameter and outer rubber elasticity are the same, a smaller column height allows for the creation of concave surfaces with smaller curvature diameters without bridging. A comparison is shown below. Figure 3 As shown, an elastic cylinder becomes drum-shaped after compression. In short, reducing the height of the cylinder helps avoid bridging. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a deformable automatic filament placement roller mechanism, which allows the roller column height to be extended and retracted according to the type of curved surface, thereby reducing the non-bridging radius of curvature of the filament placement machine roller and thus making large and medium-sized filament placement machines more adaptable.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a deformable automatic filament-laying roller mechanism, comprising a support mechanism, a roller mechanism, and a hydraulic system; the support mechanism includes a support plate and side plates, one end of which is slidably connected to the support plate, and there are two side plates arranged opposite to each other; the roller mechanism is installed at the other end of the side plates, and includes an elastic rubber wheel and a connecting head, the connecting head being installed at both ends of the elastic rubber wheel and respectively connected to the corresponding side plates; the hydraulic system includes a hydraulic cylinder and piston rods, the hydraulic cylinder being installed on the support plate, and there are two piston rods arranged opposite to each other at both ends of the hydraulic cylinder, the ends of which are respectively connected and fixed to the two side plates; when the automatic filament-laying roller mechanism is started under the control of the software program, the hydraulic system controls the movement of the side plates, thereby compressing or stretching the elastic rubber wheel.

[0006] Preferably, a dovetail groove is provided on the support plate, the extension direction of the dovetail groove is consistent with the length direction of the support plate, and its port is located at the end of the support plate; the end of the side plate is inserted into the dovetail groove and moves along the length direction of the support plate under the action of the hydraulic system.

[0007] Preferably, the elastic rubber wheel includes an outer roller layer, a spring, and a spring bearing groove; the spring is placed inside the outer roller layer, and the outer roller layer wraps around the spring and the spring bearing groove, with the spring bearing groove located at the end of the spring for mounting a connector.

[0008] Preferably, the spring's stiffness coefficient is 100 kg / cm to 150 kg / cm.

[0009] Preferably, the connector includes a bearing and a stepped shaft. The bearing is installed at one end of the stepped shaft, thereby mounting the stepped shaft onto the bearing groove at the end of the elastic rubber wheel. The other end of the stepped shaft is connected and fixed to the side plate. A washer is installed between the bearing and the stepped shaft.

[0010] Preferably, the bearing is a spherical plain bearing.

[0011] Preferably, the hydraulic system also includes a hydraulic directional valve connected to the hydraulic cylinder, which controls the contraction, stopping, and rebound of the piston rod under the control of a software program.

[0012] Preferably, the software program includes a switch function to set concave and convex surfaces, thereby controlling the hydraulic directional valve.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0014] 1. To enable large and medium-sized filament placement machines to use a large number of filament bundles for placement on convex curved surfaces and concave curved surfaces with a large radius of curvature, thereby maintaining high placement efficiency;

[0015] 2. Reducing the non-bridging radius of curvature of the rollers in the filament placement machine makes large and medium-sized filament placement machines more adaptable, thereby expanding the application range of large and medium-sized filament placement machines and improving the filament placement effect of this type of product. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the laying head in the background technology;

[0017] Figure 2 These are comparison images of normal tiling and tiling with levitation in the background technology (a. normal tiling; b. tiling with levitation).

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the deformation of a conventional elastic roller in the background art;

[0019] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the roller structure in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the connection structure between the roller and the side plate in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the spring and spring bearing groove structure in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the connection between the roller and the support plate in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4-8 In the middle section, 1. Support plate; 1-1. Dovetail groove; 2. Side plate; 2-1. Dovetail slider; 3. Support platform; 4. Stop pin; 5. Piston rod; 6. Piston cylinder; 7. Spring bearing groove; 8. Spring; 9. Rubber ring; 10. Spherical plain bearing; 11. Washer; 12. Stepped shaft; 13. Hydraulic directional valve; 14. Hydraulic motor; 15. Oil cylinder; 16. Fixing screw. Detailed Implementation

[0025] It should be noted that the terms "center", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship that the product of the invention is usually placed in when in use. They are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0026] The following is in conjunction with the appendix Figure 4-8The invention is further described in detail below: A deformable automatic filament placement roller mechanism includes a support mechanism, a roller mechanism, and a hydraulic system; the support mechanism is connected and fixed to the filament placement head bracket of the automatic filament placement machine, and simultaneously provides support for the roller mechanism and the hydraulic system; the roller mechanism is the head of the automatic filament placement machine, used for laying and forming complex curved surfaces; the hydraulic system serves as a power mechanism, used to change the column height of the rollers in the roller mechanism to adapt to the real-time changes of convex and concave curved surfaces in complex curved surfaces, avoiding bridging phenomena; the automatic filament placement roller mechanism is a hardware component, but it also requires software program support, i.e., a switching quantity is added to the software program. In the concave curved surface region, when the radius of curvature is less than a certain value, the roller mechanism is controlled to be in a compressed state; when the curved surface reverts to a convex surface or a surface with a large radius of curvature, the roller mechanism is controlled to be in a relaxed state.

[0027] The specific structure is as follows:

[0028] like Figure 4 , 6 As shown, the support mechanism includes a support plate 1 and a side plate 2. One end of the side plate is slidably connected to the support plate. There are two side plates, which are arranged opposite to each other. In this embodiment, a dovetail groove 1-1 is formed on the support plate 1. The extension direction of the dovetail groove 1-1 is consistent with the length direction of the support plate 1, and its two ends are located at the two ends of the support plate 1, respectively. The end of the side plate 2 is set as a dovetail slider 2-1. The dovetail slider 2-1 is inserted into the dovetail groove 1-1 and moves along the length direction of the support plate 1 under the action of the hydraulic system.

[0029] As a preferred embodiment of this example, the length of the support plate 1 satisfies the maximum sliding range of the side plate 2, that is, when the roller mechanism is stretched, the side plate 2 will not come out of the dovetail groove 1-1.

[0030] A roller mechanism is installed at the other end of side plate 2, and includes an elastic rubber wheel and a connector. The connector is installed at both ends of the elastic rubber wheel and is connected to the corresponding side plate 2. In this embodiment, as shown... Figure 5 , 7 As shown, the elastic roller includes a rubber ring 9, a spring 8, and a spring bearing groove 7. The rubber ring 9 serves as the outer layer of the roller and is used to roll and press the filament bundle during use. The spring 7 is placed inside the rubber ring 9, and the rubber ring 9 encloses the spring and the spring bearing groove. That is, when the rubber ring 9 is compressed or stretched, the spring 8 is compressed or stretched synchronously with the rubber ring 9. The spring bearing groove 7 is a bowl-shaped groove, and there are two of them, which are respectively set at both ends of the spring 8 for installing the connector.

[0031] In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the spring has a stiffness coefficient of 100 kg / cm to 150 kg / cm, a cross-sectional area of ​​approximately 30 mm² (equivalent to a spring with a diameter of 5 to 6 mm), and a pitch of approximately 10 mm to 12 mm. The rubber used to manufacture the roller is the same as the rubber material and properties of existing rollers, and there are no special limitations.

[0032] like Figure 5 As shown, the connector includes a bearing, a washer 11, and a stepped shaft 12. In this embodiment, since spherical bearings can often withstand large axial and radial forces simultaneously, a spherical bearing 10 is used in this embodiment, which is installed at one end of the stepped shaft 12, thereby mounting the stepped shaft 12 onto the spring bearing groove 7. The washer 11 is installed between the spherical bearing 10 and the stepped shaft 12, serving to elevate or adjust the size. The small end of the stepped shaft 12 is connected and fixed to the side plate 2. Specifically, a through hole is opened on the side plate 2, and a threaded hole is opened radially along the through hole, with the threaded hole communicating with the through hole. The small end of the stepped shaft 12 is inserted into the through hole, and the stepped shaft 12 is fixed to the side plate 2 by a fixing screw 16 that matches the threaded hole.

[0033] like Figure 4 , 8 As shown, the hydraulic system includes a piston cylinder 6, a piston rod 5, a hydraulic motor 14, an oil cylinder 15, and a control valve. The piston cylinder 6 is mounted on the support plate 1 via a support platform 3 fixed to the support plate 1. There are two piston rods 5, which are arranged opposite each other at both ends of the piston cylinder 6. Their ends pass through square holes opened on the side plates 2 and are respectively connected and fixed to the two side plates 2 by stop pins 4. The hydraulic motor 14 provides power to the oil cylinder 15 to control the amount of oil entering and leaving the piston cylinder 6 in the oil cylinder 15, thereby controlling the movement of the piston rod 5. The control valve is a hydraulic directional valve 13, which is set on the connecting pipe between the oil cylinder 15 and the piston cylinder 6. The hydraulic directional valve 13 controls the contraction, stopping, and rebound of the piston rod 5 under the control of the software program. When the automatic yarn-laying roller mechanism is started under the control of the software program, the hydraulic system controls the piston rod 2 to move, thereby driving the side plates 2 to move, realizing the compression or stretching of the roller mechanism within a certain range, thereby realizing a variable column height roller.

[0034] like Figure 8As shown, the retraction, stopping, and rebound of the piston rod 5 are controlled by the right, middle, and left positions of the hydraulic directional valve 13. The position of the hydraulic directional valve 13 is controlled by program commands. The control logic of the hydraulic directional valve 13 is as follows: When the mold turns from the outer convex surface (or plane) to the inner concave surface (command 1 is issued), the hydraulic directional valve 13 turns from the middle position to the right position, the piston rod 5 retracts, retracting by 30% of its length, and then command 0 is issued, and the hydraulic directional valve returns to the middle position; when the mold turns from the inner concave surface to the outer convex surface (or plane) (command 2 is issued), the directional valve turns from the middle position to the left position, the piston rod extends, and when it extends to its full length, command 0 is issued, and the hydraulic directional valve returns to the middle position.

Claims

1. A deformable automated fiber placement roller mechanism, characterized by: The automatic fiber laying pressure roller mechanism comprises a supporting mechanism, a roller mechanism and a hydraulic system; the supporting mechanism comprises a supporting plate and side plates, one end of each side plate is slidably connected to the supporting plate, and the side plates are oppositely arranged; the roller mechanism is installed at the other end of the side plates and comprises elastic rubber wheels and connecting heads, the connecting heads are installed at both ends of the elastic rubber wheels and are connected to the corresponding side plates respectively; the hydraulic system comprises a piston cylinder and piston rods, the piston cylinder is installed on the supporting plate, the piston rods are oppositely arranged at both ends of the piston cylinder, and the ends of the piston rods are connected and fixed to the two side plates respectively; when the automatic fiber laying pressure roller mechanism is started under the control of a software program, the hydraulic system controls the movement of the side plates, and then compresses or stretches the elastic rubber wheels; The elastic rubber wheel comprises a rubber ring, a spring and a spring bearing groove; the spring is arranged in the rubber ring, and the rubber ring wraps the spring and the spring bearing groove; the spring bearing groove is arranged at the end of the spring and is used for installing the connecting head; the connecting head comprises a bearing and a stepped shaft, the bearing is installed at one end of the stepped shaft, so that the stepped shaft is installed on the bearing groove at the end of the elastic rubber wheel; the other end of the stepped shaft is connected and fixed to the side plate; When the rubber ring is compressed or stretched, the spring is compressed or stretched synchronously with the rubber ring.

2. The deformable automated fiber placement roller mechanism of claim 1, wherein: A dovetail groove is formed in the supporting plate, the extension direction of the dovetail groove is consistent with the length direction of the supporting plate, and the port of the dovetail groove is located at the end of the supporting plate; the end of the side plate is clamped into the dovetail groove, and the side plate moves along the length direction of the supporting plate under the action of the hydraulic system.

3. The deformable automated fiber placement roller mechanism of claim 1, wherein: A gasket is installed between the bearing and the stepped shaft.

4. The deformable automated fiber placement roller mechanism of claim 3, wherein: The bearing is a joint bearing.

5. The deformable automated fiber placement roller mechanism of claim 1, wherein: The hydraulic system further comprises a hydraulic reversing valve connected to the hydraulic cylinder, the hydraulic reversing valve controls the contraction, stop and rebound of the piston rod under the control of the software program.

6. The deformable automated fiber placement roller mechanism of claim 5, wherein: Switching values are set on the software program, which are used for setting concave and convex curved surfaces and then controlling the hydraulic reversing valve.

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