High-flexibility composite material automatic laying equipment and method

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of automatic paving equipment, in particular to high-flexibility composite material automatic paving equipment and a method, which comprises a suction cup array, a telescopic component and a fixed platform, the telescopic component is installed on one side of the fixed platform, the suction cup array is located at the lower end of the fixed platform, elastic rods are fixedly installed on the left and right sides of the lower end of the fixed platform, a plurality of fixed plates are slidably sleeved with the outer ends of the elastic rods, and the fixed plate located at the outermost end is connected with the telescopic component; the suction cup array can pick up composite material pieces, the curved surface reconstruction of the suction cup array is realized through motor driving, the automatic paving of the composite material fabric can be completed in combination with auxiliary equipment, the equipment overcomes the problems that the preform boundary needs secondary processing after paving through other automatic paving means and the paving efficiency is low, widens the material types of the automatic paving, and has higher forming adaptability.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of automatic laying equipment, in particular to a high-flexibility composite material automatic laying equipment and method. BACKGROUND

[0002] Composite materials have the characteristics of light weight, high strength, corrosion resistance, material component integration, structure and function integration, design and manufacturing integration, etc., and their rigidity and strength performance is equivalent to or exceeds that of aluminum alloy. The amount of composite materials is an important indicator of the advancement of modern aircraft. At present, composite materials are widely used in aircraft fuselage structure manufacturing and small unmanned aerial vehicle overall structure manufacturing.

[0003] Most of the manufacturing of composite materials is based on manual laying, which has low automation. Especially in aircraft skin, cabin door, hatch and fairing, etc., manual laying is difficult, inefficient and unstable in quality. Because the cost of composite materials is relatively high, the loss caused by part scrap is large, so the demand for machine automatic laying of composite materials is extremely urgent.

[0004] There are two widely used methods for current automatic laying: automatic tape laying and automatic fiber laying. The former is difficult to control the shape of the laying boundary during laying, resulting in the need for further processing of the preform after laying, which not only causes material waste, but also causes a significant decline in structural performance due to internal defects, even causing part scrap and significant loss. The latter requires a large number of heavy silk supply equipment to be hung on the end effector during large-area laying, and the silk cylinder needs to be replaced regularly, which reduces the laying efficiency. Moreover, both of them are only suitable for single-direction tape laying and cannot meet the laying of various materials including fabrics. Therefore, these two methods cannot meet the needs of some components with neat boundary shape and large laying area. Therefore, in the manufacturing process of composite materials, how to lay a large-area part with a relatively accurate boundary shape, improve the laying efficiency, and solve the single material problem of automatic laying are urgent problems to be solved. SUMMARY

[0005] The purpose of the present application is to provide a high-flexibility composite material automatic laying equipment and method to solve the problems raised in the background.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the present application provides the following technical scheme: a high-flexibility composite material automatic laying equipment, comprising: a suction cup array, a telescopic component and a fixed platform, the telescopic component is installed on one side of the fixed platform, the suction cup array is located at the lower end of the fixed platform, the lower end of the fixed platform is fixedly installed with elastic rods on the left and right sides, the outer end of the elastic rod is slidably sleeved with a plurality of fixed plates, the outermost fixed plate is connected with the telescopic component;

[0007] The suction disc array comprises several columns of suction discs, each column being provided with several suction discs, each two adjacent suction discs in each column being connected by a hinge, the upper end of each suction disc being rotatably connected to a sleeve, each two adjacent sleeves being rotatably connected to a long rod, the long rods being movably connected to each other, the upper end of each suction disc in the middle of each column being fixedly connected to a fixed plate, and a driving component being arranged at the center of each column of suction discs.

[0008] Preferably, a through hole is formed in the upper end of each fixed plate, one end of an elastic rod is fixedly connected to the lower end of the fixed platform, and the other end of the elastic rod is slidably connected to the through holes and fixedly connected to a limiting sleeve.

[0009] Preferably, two vertical plates are fixedly connected to the upper end of each suction disc, a rotating shaft is fixedly connected to the inner side of the upper end of each vertical plate, a rotating groove is symmetrically formed in the side wall of the front end and the rear end of the sleeve, the outer end of the rotating shaft is rotatably connected to the rotating groove, a wire groove is formed in the inner end of the sleeve, and a protrusion is arranged on the outer end of the long rod and inserted into the wire groove.

[0010] Preferably, the driving component comprises a motor base and a transmission gear, the motor base is rotatably connected to the outer end of the sleeve at the center, the motor base is fixedly connected to the side wall of the fixed plate by a bolt, a motor is fixedly connected to the motor base, and a driving gear is fixedly connected to the output end of the motor.

[0011] Preferably, a plurality of transmission gears are fixedly connected to the outer wall of the long rod at the center, and the outer wall of the transmission gear is meshingly connected to the driving gear.

[0012] Preferably, an arc-shaped groove is fixedly connected to one end of each long rod, a spherical ball is fixedly connected to the other end of each long rod, the arc-shaped groove is two-thirds of the spherical ball, an arc-shaped block is fixedly connected to the arc-shaped groove, and a circular groove corresponding to the arc-shaped block is formed in the outer wall of the spherical ball.

[0013] Preferably, the spherical ball is slidably inserted into the arc-shaped groove, and the arc-shaped block is inserted into the circular groove.

[0014] Preferably, the telescopic component comprises a cylinder frame, the cylinder frame is rotatably connected to the other end of the side wall of the fixed platform, a cylinder is fixedly connected to one end of the cylinder frame, a rotating cylinder is fixedly connected to the other end of the cylinder, a fixed seat is rotatably connected to the rotating cylinder, and the fixed seat is fixedly connected to the upper end of the fixed plate at the outermost end.

[0015] A use method of a high-flexibility composite material automatic laying equipment, specifically comprising the following steps:

[0016] S1, according to the part structure decomposition layer, write the blanking program, then according to the blanking program the need to lay the piece cutting (the raw material in this step is any one of unidirectional tape, fabric, prepreg, dry fabric);

[0017] S2, the robot drives the suction cup array to pick up the piece in sequence;

[0018] S3, by controlling the telescopic part telescopic and the connecting long rod of the suction cup rotation, combining the structure parameters of the equipment design and the conversion relationship between the target curvature, adjust the curvature of the suction cup array, that is, the suction cup reconstructs the curved surface according to the part structure, so that the reconstructed curved surface is consistent with the part structure;

[0019] S4, under the premise of ensuring the laying and fitting accuracy, combined with the corresponding auxiliary equipment, realize the automatic laying of composite materials.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present application are:

[0021] The suction cup array can pick up the composite material piece, through the motor drive, realize the curved surface reconstruction of the suction cup array, combined with the auxiliary equipment can complete the automatic laying of the composite fabric, the equipment overcomes the problem of secondary processing of the preform boundary after laying by other automatic laying means, and the laying efficiency is low, and widens the material types of automatic laying, has higher forming adaptability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is the front view schematic diagram of the whole structure of the present application;

[0023] Figure 2 It is the rear view schematic diagram of the whole structure of the present application;

[0024] Figure 3 It is the suction cup array structure plan view of the present application;

[0025] Figure 4 It is the side view of the whole structure of the present application;

[0026] Figure 5 It is the schematic diagram of the suction cup through the hinge connection of the present application;

[0027] Figure 6 It is the side view of the suction cup array of the present application;

[0028] Figure 7 It is the shaft sleeve and long rod section view schematic diagram of the present application;

[0029] Figure 8 It is the flow chart of the present application.

[0030] In the figure: 1, fixed platform; 2, elastic rod; 3, fixed plate; 4, through hole; 5, limiting sleeve; 6, cylinder frame; 7, cylinder; 8, fixed seat; 9, rotating cylinder; 10, suction cup; 11, hinge; 12, vertical plate; 13, shaft sleeve; 14, long rod; 15, wire slot; 16, arc-shaped groove; 17, round ball; 18, motor base; 19, motor; 20, driving gear; 21, transmission gear; 22, arc-shaped block; 23, circular ring groove; 100, suction cup array; 200, telescopic part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme of the present application clear, complete and the advantages more clear and obvious, the embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below with reference to the drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all the embodiments, only to explain the embodiments of the present application, and not for limiting the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0032] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "center", "middle", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", "top", "bottom", "side", "vertical", "horizontal" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, therefore it cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. In addition, the terms "one", "first", "second", "third", "fourth", "fifth", "sixth" are only for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0033] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "connection" should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixed connection, or detachable connection, or integral connection; it can be mechanical connection, or electrical connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through intermediate medium, it can be the communication inside two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0034] For the purposes of simplicity and illustration, the principles of the embodiments are primarily described by way of reference example. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one ordinarily skilled in the art that the embodiments can be practiced without the specific details and that numerous implementation choices may

[0035] Referring now to the drawings Figures 1 to 8 The application provides a technical solution: an automatic laying equipment for high-flexibility composite materials, comprising: a suction cup array 100, a telescopic part 200 and a fixed platform 1, the telescopic part 200 is installed on one side of the fixed platform 1, the suction cup array 100 is located at the lower end of the fixed platform 1, the lower end of the fixed platform 1 is fixedly installed with elastic rods 2 on the left and right sides, the outer ends of the elastic rods 2 are slidingly sleeved with a plurality of fixed plates 3, the upper end of each fixed plate 3 is provided with through holes 4 on the left and right sides, one end of the elastic rod 2 is fixedly installed at the lower end of the fixed platform 1, the other end of the elastic rod 2 is sequentially slidingly passed through a plurality of through holes 4 and fixedly installed with a limiting sleeve 5, the limiting sleeve 5 limits the outer end of the elastic rod 2, the fixed plate 3 located at the outermost end is connected with the telescopic part 200;

[0036] The suction cup array 100 comprises a plurality of columns of suction cups 10, each column is provided with a plurality of suction cups 10, each two adjacent suction cups 10 in each column are rotationally connected through a hinge 11, the upper end of each suction cup 10 is rotationally connected with an axle sleeve 13 on the front and back sides, two vertical plates 12 are fixedly installed on the upper end of each suction cup 10, a rotating shaft is fixedly installed on the inner side of the upper end of the vertical plate 12, a rotating groove is symmetrically formed on the side wall of the front and back ends of the axle sleeve 13, and the outer end of the rotating shaft is rotationally connected through the rotating groove, a long rod 14 is rotationally connected in the axle sleeve 13 on each of the two adjacent suction cups 10, the two long rods 14 are movably connected, each long rod 14 passes through the axle sleeve 13 and is connected in the form of a universal joint between the two long rods 14 at the center position of the two suction cups 10, the upper end of each suction cup 10 at the middle position of each column is fixedly installed with a fixed plate 3, a driving part is arranged at the center of each column of suction cups 10, which can rotate with the axle sleeve 13, the fixed plate 3 is fixedly installed on the upper end of the suction cup 10 at the center, each column of suction cups 10 is fixed on the elastic rod 2 through the fixed plate 3, one end of the elastic rod 2 is fixed on the fixed platform 1, the other end passes through the corresponding hole sleeve of the telescopic part 200, the telescopic part 200 is connected with the fixed platform 1 through a pin shaft and can rotate around the shaft, a flange structure is designed on the fixed platform 1 and can be assembled with a mechanical arm to meet the requirements of high degree of freedom and high flexibility.

[0037] The driving component comprises a motor base 18 and transmission gears 21, the motor base 18 is rotatably installed on the outer end of the central shaft sleeve 13, and the motor base 18 is fixed on the side wall of the fixed plate 3 by bolts, the motor base 18 is fixedly installed with a motor 19, the output end of the motor 19 is fixedly installed with a driving gear 20, the transmission gears 21 are provided with a plurality of transmission gears 21, which are fixedly installed on the outer wall of the central long rod 14, the transmission gears 21 and the outer wall of the driving gear 20 are meshed and connected, the motor 19 drives the driving gear 20 to rotate, the driving gear 20 drives the transmission gear 21 to rotate, and the transmission gear 21 drives the long rod 14 to rotate.

[0038] One end of each long rod 14 is fixedly installed with an arc-shaped groove 16, the other end is fixedly installed with a spherical ball 17, the arc-shaped groove 16 is two-thirds of the spherical ball, the arc-shaped groove 16 is fixedly installed with an arc-shaped block 22, the outer wall of the spherical ball 17 is provided with a circular groove 23 corresponding to the arc-shaped block 22, when the spherical ball 17 is slidably inserted into the arc-shaped groove 16, two-thirds of the spherical ball 17 is located in the arc-shaped groove 16, the arc-shaped groove 16 limits the spherical ball 17 to rotate in the arc-shaped groove 16, and at the same time the arc-shaped block 22 is inserted into the circular groove 23, when the spherical ball 17 rotates, the arc-shaped block 22 slides in the circular groove 23, the motor 19 and the long rod 14 are connected through the gear to transmit torque, the motor 19 rotates to drive the long rod 14 to rotate, the long rod 14 is connected by the arc-shaped groove 16 and the spherical ball 17, so that the long rod 14 on both sides rotates synchronously, the inner end of the shaft sleeve 13 is provided with a wire groove 15, the outer end of the long rod 14 is provided with a protrusion, the protrusion is inserted into the wire groove 15 and matched with the wire groove 15, when the long rod 14 rotates, the shaft sleeve 13 is displaced along the long rod 14 due to the spiral wire groove 15 and the protrusion, so that the array of suction cups 10 realizes the curved surface reconstruction.

[0039] The telescopic component 200 comprises a cylinder frame 6, the cylinder frame 6 is rotatably connected to the other end side wall of the fixed platform 1, one end of the cylinder frame 6 is installed with a cylinder 7, the other end of the cylinder 7 is fixedly installed with a rotating cylinder 9, the rotating cylinder 9 is rotatably sleeved with a fixed seat 8, the fixed seat 8 is fixedly installed on the upper end of the outermost fixed plate 3, when the telescopic component 200 needs to be telescopic, the cylinder 7 is started to drive the cylinder frame 6 to move, so as to realize the telescopic function; the elastic rod 2 is also bent and deformed due to the fact that one end is fixed to the end of the telescopic component 200, so as to drive the curved surface reconstruction of the suction cup array 100.

[0040] A use method of a high-flexibility composite material automatic paving equipment, specifically comprising the following steps:

[0041] S1, according to the part structure decomposition, write the cutting program, then according to the cutting program, cut out the material sheet that needs to be paved, the raw material in this step can be unidirectional tape or fabric, can be pre-impregnated material or dry fabric;

[0042] S2, the robot drives the suction cup array 100 to pick up the material sheet in sequence;

[0043] S3, by controlling the extension and retraction of the extension and retraction component 200 and the rotation of the connecting long rod 14 of the suction cup 10, the curvature of the suction cup array 100 is adjusted according to the conversion relationship between the structural parameters of the equipment design and the target curvature, that is, the suction cup 10 reconstructs the curved surface according to the part structure, so that the reconstructed curved surface is consistent with the part structure;

[0044] S4, under the premise of ensuring the laying and fitting accuracy, combined with the corresponding auxiliary equipment, the automatic laying of the composite material is realized.

[0045] When the device works, when the equipment works, the rotation angle of the motor 19 and the extension and retraction stroke of the extension and retraction component 200 are determined according to the curvature of the target component, the motor 19 and the long rod 14 transmit torque through the gear, the motor 19 rotates to drive the long rod 14 to rotate, the long rod 14 rotates synchronously due to the connecting structure of the arc-shaped groove 16 and the spherical ball 17, the spiral groove 15 is arranged in the shaft sleeve 13, the long rod 14 has a protrusion inserted into the groove for cooperation, when the long rod 14 rotates, the shaft sleeve 13 will displace along the long rod 14 due to the spiral groove 15, so that the row of suction cups realizes curved surface reconstruction.

[0046] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, it can be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, replacements and variations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirits of the present application, the scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A high flexibility composite material automated layup apparatus comprising: The utility model relates to a kind of telescopic component (200) and fixed platform (1), telescopic component (200) is installed in the one side of fixed platform (1), suction cup array (100) is located in the lower end of fixed platform (1), it is characterized by: the lower end of the fixed platform (1) is fixedly installed with elastic bar (2) in left and right sides, several fixed plates (3) are slidably sleeved in the outer end of elastic bar (2), the fixed plate (3) in outermost end is connected with telescopic component (200); Suction cup array (100) includes several columns of suction cups (10), each column is provided with several suction cups (10), each column is rotatably connected between every two adjacent suction cups (10) by hinge (11), the upper end of each suction cup (10) is rotatably connected with shaft sleeve (13) on the front and rear sides, shaft sleeve (13) is rotatably connected with long rod (14) in the inner of the shaft sleeve (13) on the upper end of the adjacent two suction cups (10), the long rod (14) is movably connected between the adjacent two long rods (14), the upper end of the suction cup (10) in the middle part of each column is fixedly installed with fixed plate (3) on the front and rear sides, the center of each column of suction cups (10) is provided with driving component; The driving component includes motor base (18) and transmission gear (21), the motor base (18) is rotatably installed on the outer end of the shaft sleeve (13) in the center, and the motor base (18) is fixed on the side wall of the fixed plate (3) by bolt, the motor base (18) is fixedly installed with motor (19) in it, the output end of the motor (19) is fixedly installed with driving gear (20), the transmission gear (21) is provided with several, and is fixedly installed on the outer wall of the long rod (14) in the center, respectively, the outer wall of transmission gear (21) and driving gear (20) is engagedly connected; The upper end of each suction cup (10) is fixedly installed with two vertical plates (12) on the front and rear sides, the upper end of the vertical plate (12) is fixedly installed with rotating shaft on the inner side, the side wall of the front and rear ends of the shaft sleeve (13) is symmetrically provided with rotating groove, and is rotatably connected with the outer end of the rotating shaft through the rotating groove, the inner end of the shaft sleeve (13) is provided with wire slot (15), the outer end of the long rod (14) is provided with protrusion, the protrusion is inserted into the wire slot (15) and cooperates with it, one end of each long rod (14) is fixedly installed with arc-shaped groove (16), the other end is fixedly installed with spherical ball (17), the arc-shaped groove (16) is two-thirds spherical ball, the arc-shaped groove (16) is fixedly installed with arc-shaped block (22), the outer wall of the spherical ball (17) is provided with annular groove (23) corresponding to the arc-shaped block (22), the spherical ball (17) is slidably inserted into the arc-shaped groove (16), and the arc-shaped block (22) is inserted into the annular groove (23).

2. The high flexibility composite material automated layup apparatus of claim 1, wherein: The upper end of each fixed plate (3) is provided with through hole (4) on the left and right sides, one end of the elastic bar (2) is fixedly installed at the lower end of the fixed platform (1), the other end of the elastic bar (2) is sequentially slid through several through holes (4) and is fixedly installed with limiting sleeve (5).

3. The high flexibility composite material automated layup apparatus of claim 1, wherein: The telescopic part (200) comprises a cylinder frame (6) which is rotationally connected to the other end side wall of the fixed platform (1), one end of the cylinder frame (6) is provided with a cylinder (7), the other end of the cylinder (7) is fixedly provided with a rotating cylinder (9), the rotating cylinder (9) is sleeved with a fixed seat (8), and the fixed seat (8) is fixedly installed on the upper end of the outermost fixed plate (3).

4. A method of using a high flexibility composite material automated lay-up apparatus according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: S1, according to the part structure, the laying is decomposed, the blanking program is written, and then the material sheet to be laid is cut out according to the blanking program (the raw material in this step is any one of unidirectional tape, fabric, prepreg and dry fabric); S2, the robot drives the suction cup array (100) to pick up the material sheet in sequence; S3, by controlling the telescopic part (200) to stretch and retract and the connecting long rod (14) of the suction cup (10) to rotate, the curvature of the suction cup array (100) is adjusted according to the conversion relationship between the structure parameters of the equipment design and the target curvature, that is, the suction cup (10) reconstructs the curved surface according to the part structure, so that the reconstructed curved surface is consistent with the part structure; S4, under the premise of ensuring the laying and fitting precision, combined with the corresponding auxiliary equipment, the automatic laying of the composite material is realized.

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