A cover plate holder with vacuum adsorption function for both stacking and detection

Abstract

This invention discloses a cover plate bracket that serves as both a layup and inspection tool with vacuum adsorption functionality. As the structures of composite material parts become increasingly complex, transferring part of the composite part's structural layup to a cover plate for stacking and molding solves the quality problems associated with traditional metal mold molding, such as thickness deviations due to mold rigidity, large mass, and uneven pressure. It also offers advantages such as lightweight, designability, and high process flexibility. However, the molding process of composite parts requires stability and repeatability. Accurately laying prepreg on the cover plate and determining whether the cover plate still meets requirements after each use are new problems that need to be solved in the manufacturing process. This invention aims to make the composite cover plate-assisted part molding process stable and repeatable, while ensuring the molding quality of complex structural parts.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of aircraft composite material parts manufacturing, specifically relating to a cover plate bracket with vacuum adsorption function that can be used for both layup and inspection. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of the aircraft manufacturing industry, the structure of composite material parts is becoming increasingly complex. Many parts are composed of two or more lay-up structures, such as stiffened panel parts. Traditional methods of prepreg lay-up and molding on metal molds are no longer sufficient to meet the requirements of the manufacturing process, nor can they meet the high molding quality requirements of composite materials. Parts often suffer from various defects such as thickness deviation, surface bubbles or insufficient resin, internal fiber wrinkles, and delamination due to uneven pressure transmission caused by the high rigidity and mass of the metal tooling. Transferring part of the composite material part's structural lay-up to a cover plate can solve the above problems while also offering other advantages, such as lighter weight, greater design flexibility, shorter production cycle, more uniform pressure transmission, reduced resin outflow, and improved overall part molding quality.

[0003] However, due to the requirement for process stability and repeatability in the molding of composite parts, how to accurately lay the prepreg on the cover plate and how to determine whether the cover plate still meets the requirements before and after each use are new problems that need to be solved in the manufacturing process. In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a cover plate bracket with vacuum adsorption function for both laying and detection, which can solve the above problems and provide strong support for the application of composite cover plates, ensuring the molding quality, manufacturing stability and repeatability of complex structural parts. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The ultimate goal of this invention is to solve the problem of poor molding quality of complex structural parts, and at the same time solve several problems in production such as the difficulty and instability of the stacking operation and the inability to detect the deformation of the cover plate. It also provides strong support for the application of cover plates in the above-mentioned technical background and improves the molding quality of products.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0006] To achieve the above objectives and applications, this invention provides a cover plate bracket with vacuum adsorption function for both stacking and detection. It is used for positioning and supporting cover plates, stacking and assembling composite parts on cover plates, and detecting cover plate dimensions. Specifically, it includes a bracket frame, bracket profile, sealing strip, vacuum pipeline and nozzle assembly, lifting ring assembly, flip joint, insertion hole, positioning pin, and other components.

[0007] The support is a frame structure. The frame is made of ordinary steel, the frame partition is about 15-20mm thick and slotted, and the frame height is about 500mm. This meets the requirements for easy stacking and operation, while minimizing weight while fulfilling structural functions.

[0008] The bracket profile is divided into a contact part and a non-contact part. The contact part is thicker, about 20mm, while the non-contact part is about 10-12mm thick. The contact part is consistent with the outer shape of the composite cover plate. The shape of the non-contact area matches the part forming model surface as much as possible. The tolerance of the bracket profile is ±0.2mm, and the surface roughness is no greater than Ra1.6. An allowance of about 200mm is reserved at the edge of the profile for making temporary vacuum bags during stacking.

[0009] The bracket surface has positioning holes in the part that contacts the cover plate to ensure accurate positioning of the cover plate. Specifically, one end has a round hole of φ8 and the other end has an oblong hole of φ8×10. The holes are coordinated with the positioning hole diameter and axis position on the part forming mold. The edge of the hole is at least 20mm away from the part's allowance line.

[0010] The support surface is designed with vacuum channels and openings to connect with vacuum pipelines. Before layup and assembly, the cover plate is adsorbed onto the support using a vacuum system to prevent displacement or even slippage of the cover plate and ensure accurate layup position.

[0011] The bracket surface is engraved with the cover plate outline and allowance lines, with a line depth of 0.5mm and a line width of 0.3mm, to detect the outer contour and deformation of the cover plate.

[0012] The bracket profile is surrounded by laser projector target mounting holes, each 6.35mm in diameter and with a tolerance of 0-+0.05mm, evenly spaced 10-20mm from the edge. These holes are used for positioning during structural layering. Additionally, CNC reference holes should be designed along the edge of the bracket profile to facilitate subsequent bracket repairs.

[0013] The sealing strip is used to seal the vacuum channel at the edge of the contact area between the bracket surface and the cover plate, ensuring stable adsorption of the cover plate.

[0014] The vacuum pipeline and nozzle assembly are installed on the support frame and connected to the vacuum channel of the support surface. During the stacking and assembly process, the vacuum system of the clean room is connected through the nozzle, which can realize the function of stable adsorption of the cover plate and ensure the stacking accuracy and the forming quality of the parts.

[0015] The lifting ring assembly is mounted on the support frame. The mounting points should be evenly distributed, with the distance from the mold's center of gravity as uniform as possible, and the safety factor should meet the requirements of relevant standards. The lifting ring assembly can be used for the regular turnover of tooling, and also as an auxiliary flipping device for combined processes.

[0016] The aforementioned flip joint is installed at both ends of the support frame. The main structure of one end of the joint is cylindrical, and both ends of the other end of the cylindrical joint have connection holes. The joint is connected to the support frame and the flip tooling by bolts. At the same time, the structure and size of the joint should match the connection joint of the existing flip tooling to realize the flipping of the tooling and the alignment with the part forming mold.

[0017] The insertion hole is installed on the bracket frame by welding, which facilitates the turnover of the cover plate bracket.

[0018] The cover plate bracket should be equipped with a sign or mark in an appropriate position. The sign should have clear lettering and be firmly installed. The sign and marking should include, as needed, information such as product drawing number, tooling drawing number, tooling name, tooling part number, manufacturing unit and tooling series number, actual weight of the tooling, tooling outline dimensions and latest version of the tooling.

[0019] After the cover plate bracket is manufactured, it should undergo a room temperature airtightness test to meet the relevant requirements for the manufacture of composite parts.

[0020] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0021] This invention solves several problems in production, such as the difficulty and instability of the stacking operation and the inability to detect the deformation of the cover plate. It also provides strong support for the application of the cover plate in the above-mentioned technical background and improves the product molding quality. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 Overall isometric view;

[0023] Figure 2 A partial schematic diagram of the contact area between the cover plate bracket and the cover plate;

[0024] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of vacuum piping and nozzle assembly;

[0025] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the flip-top connector;

[0026] Figure 5 Exploded view of cover plate support application.

[0027] In the diagram: 1. Support frame; 2. Support profile; 3. Sealing strip; 4. Vacuum piping and nozzle assembly; 5. Lifting ring assembly; 6. Flip joint; 7. Insertion hole; 8. Positioning pin. 21. Vacuum channel; 22. Connecting hole; 23. Sealing strip; 24. Positioning pin hole; 31. Nozzle assembly; 32. Piping fittings; 33. Connecting joint assembly; 41. Connecting device on the support frame; 42. Flip joint; 43. Typical connecting bolt holes on the flip joint; 51. Cover plate support; 52. Composite cover plate; 53. Part structure layup. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The invention will now be described in further detail, but this should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way.

[0029] The following description, in conjunction with specific embodiments and accompanying drawings, provides further details.

[0030] A cover plate holder with vacuum adsorption function for both stacking and detection, such as Figure 1 As shown, it includes a support frame 1, a support profile 2, a sealing strip 3, a vacuum pipeline and nozzle assembly 4, a lifting ring assembly 5, a flip joint 6, a forklift hole 7, and a positioning pin 8.

[0031] A partial schematic diagram of the contact area between the cover plate bracket and the cover plate is shown below. Figure 2 As shown, the system includes a vacuum channel 21, a connecting hole 22, a sealing strip 23, and a positioning pin hole 24. The vacuum channel 1 is achieved by slotting on the support surface. This invention provides an alternative vacuum channel solution, namely, arranging a suction cup structure on the surface instead of slotting, wherein the suction cup is mainly a deformable non-metallic structural component. The connecting hole 22 adopts a threaded structure and connects to the end of the connecting joint assembly of the vacuum pipeline assembly.

[0032] The vacuum tubing assembly, such as Figure 3 As shown, it mainly consists of an air nozzle assembly 31, a pipeline component 32, and a connecting joint assembly 33.

[0033] The application diagram of the aforementioned flip-top connector is as follows: Figure 4 As shown, 41 is the connecting device on the support frame, 42 is the flip joint, and 43 is a typical connecting bolt hole on the flip joint.

[0034] The application diagram of the cover plate bracket is as follows: Figure 5 It includes a cover plate bracket 51, a composite cover plate 52, and a part structure layup 53. In actual application, the composite cover plate is positioned on the layup bracket using the positioning pin 8, and then the part structure layup is carried out. After the layup is completed, the layup bracket is flipped by using the flip joint to connect with the flip tooling. Then it is combined with other layups on the forming mold to finally achieve the forming of the part.

[0035] The cover plate bracket has the function of inspecting the shape of the cover plate. By measuring the distance between the edge of the cover plate and the edge of the cover plate bracket or the distance between the edge of the cover plate and the allowance line on the cover plate bracket, the deviation between the actual shape and the theoretical shape of the cover plate can be detected. At the same time, the gap between the edge of the cover plate and the bracket profile is measured by feeling gauge to detect the contour of the cover plate. If the shape of the cover plate exceeds the tolerance requirements, a new cover plate should be made to ensure the stability, controllability and repeatability of the manufacturing process.

[0036] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical and methodological essence of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of the technical and methodological solutions of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cover plate holder for both stacking and detection with vacuum adsorption function, characterized in that, Includes a bracket frame (1), a bracket profile (2), a sealing strip (3), a vacuum pipeline and nozzle assembly (4), a lifting ring assembly (5), a flip joint (6), a car insertion hole (7), and a positioning pin (8); The support frame (1) is a partition frame structure; The bracket profile (2) is fixed on the bracket frame (1). The bracket profile (2) is divided into a part that contacts the cover plate and a non-contact part. The profile of the contact part is thicker than that of the non-contact part. The part of the profile that contacts the cover plate is designed with positioning holes to ensure accurate positioning of the cover plate. Specifically, it is a round hole at one end. One end is an oblong hole And ensure that the positioning hole diameter and axis position are consistent with the part forming mold; design a vacuum channel on the surface, the channel is a uniformly distributed groove structure or suction cup structure, and open the hole to connect with the vacuum pipeline assembly; seal the edge of the vacuum channel with sealing strip (3) to ensure airtightness; The upper surface of the bracket profile (2) is provided with a cover plate bracket (51), a composite cover plate (52), and a component structure layup (53) in sequence; The vacuum pipeline and nozzle assembly (4) is installed on the support frame and connected to the vacuum channel of the support surface (2). The connection part is a threaded structure. The nozzle interface is matched with the vacuum system connector of the clean room to realize the function of stable adsorption of the cover plate. During the support flipping process, the cover plate will not slip or fall off, ensuring the stacking accuracy and assembly accuracy of the parts, thereby ensuring the forming quality of the parts. The vacuum pipeline and nozzle assembly (4) includes a nozzle assembly (31), pipeline components (32), and a connector assembly (33); The air nozzle assembly (31) is connected in sequence via a pipe fitting (32) and a connecting connector assembly (33); The lifting ring assembly (5) is installed on the support frame (1) at least 4 times; The flip joint (6) is installed at both ends of the support frame. The main structure of one end of the joint is cylindrical, and both ends of the cylindrical joint of the other end have connection hole structures. The connection with the support frame and the flip tooling is achieved by bolts. At the same time, the structure and size of the joint should match the connection joint of the existing flip tooling to achieve the flipping of the tooling and the alignment with the part forming mold. The bracket frame (1) uses positioning pins (8) to position the composite cover plate on the layup bracket, and then lays up the part structure layers. After the layup is completed, the flip joint is used to dock with the flip tooling to realize the flipping of the layup bracket. Then it is combined with other layup layers on the forming mold to finally realize the forming of the part. The cover plate outline and allowance line are engraved on the bracket surface (2). The line depth is 0.5mm and the line width is 0.3mm. By measuring the distance between the edge of the cover plate and the engraved line and the gap with the bracket surface, the outer contour and deformation of the cover plate are detected, so as to achieve the purpose of one set of brackets for two purposes.

2. The cover plate holder with vacuum adsorption function for both stacking and detection as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The bracket frame (1) is made of ordinary steel and has a height of 500mm, which is convenient for operation. Two insertion holes (7) are installed on the side of the bracket frame (1) by welding, which can facilitate regular turnover.

3. A cover plate holder with vacuum adsorption function for both stacking and detection as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The non-contact part is shaped to match the surface of the part forming model, with a 200mm margin reserved at the edge of the surface for making temporary vacuum bags during stacking.

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