A pre-preg tape lay-up assist device

Abstract

The utility model relates to a kind of prepreg laying-up auxiliary devices, including material bearing assembly;The material bearing assembly includes cavity, the corner of the cavity is equipped with avoidance groove, the depth of the avoidance groove is same with the depth of the cavity;The inner wall of the cavity is equipped with at least one material taking groove and multiple limit grooves along its long side extension direction, the depth of the material taking groove is greater than the depth of the cavity;Multiple limit grooves are symmetrically set on the inner wall of the two sides of the cavity;The upper surface of the cavity is equipped with angle mark, and the angle mark includes at least one scale line for indicating the laying direction of prepreg.The prepreg laying-up auxiliary device of the application reduces the problems such as difficult to enter the mold and misplacement caused by size problem by controlling the size of laying-up blank;In addition, by matching the material cutting size with the cavity, the splicing gap or uneven lap phenomenon caused by artificial splicing is reduced, which is beneficial to size positioning when splicing prepreg.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of thermoplastic composite material manufacturing technology, specifically to a prepreg tape layup auxiliary device. Background Technology

[0002] Fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites offer advantages over traditional thermosetting composites, including impact resistance, chemical corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, and recyclability, leading to their widespread application in aerospace, robotics, and medical devices. Maximizing the performance of thermoplastic composite products requires appropriate molding processes. Compression molding, currently one of the most common molding methods, along with steps such as structural design, prepreg cutting and stacking, and hot pressing demolding, can yield high-performance products.

[0003] In its molding process, prepreg tape lamination is a crucial step, requiring precise multi-angle and multi-layer lamination according to design requirements. However, traditional lamination processes are prone to problems such as misalignment, splicing misalignment, and deviation of lamination angle, leading to unstable product performance and low efficiency. Utility Model Content

[0004] To address the problems that easily occur in the existing technology of prepreg tape laying, such as misalignment of overlapping, misalignment of splicing, and deviation of laying angle, which lead to unstable product performance and low efficiency.

[0005] This application provides a prepreg tape layup auxiliary device, including a material carrying component;

[0006] The material carrying component includes a cavity, and each corner of the cavity is provided with a clearance groove, the depth of which is the same as the depth of the cavity; the inner wall of the cavity is provided with at least one material picking groove and multiple limiting grooves along its long side extension direction, the depth of which is greater than the depth of the cavity; the multiple limiting grooves are symmetrically arranged on the inner walls of both sides of the cavity.

[0007] The upper surface of the cavity is provided with an angle mark, which includes at least one scale line for indicating the layup direction of the prepreg tape.

[0008] Furthermore, the clearance groove is cylindrical in shape.

[0009] Furthermore, the depth of the material receiving groove is 1-5 mm greater than the depth of the cavity.

[0010] Furthermore, a limiting plate can be inserted between the two opposing limiting slots to fix materials of different lengths.

[0011] Furthermore, the pressing assembly includes a pressing block, a telescopic connecting rod, and a driving mechanism. The pressing block is connected to the driving mechanism via the telescopic connecting rod and moves along the upper surface of the cavity under the control of the driving mechanism to achieve the pressing operation of the material.

[0012] Furthermore, the width of the pressure block is smaller than the width of the cavity.

[0013] Furthermore, the pressure block is detachably connected to the telescopic connecting rod and can rotate about its own axis.

[0014] Furthermore, the driving mechanism is a pneumatic or electric rotary pressure vessel.

[0015] Furthermore, it also includes a welding assembly, which includes an ultrasonic spot welding head electrically connected to an ultrasonic generator, and the spot welding surface of the ultrasonic spot welding head is provided with uniformly distributed spherical protrusions.

[0016] Furthermore, the height of the spherical protrusion is 0.2-2mm.

[0017] Implementing the embodiments of this utility model has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] This application's prepreg tape layup auxiliary device utilizes a cavity fixture with dimensions consistent with the molding die to effectively control the size of the layup blank, reducing misalignment and difficulties in mold entry due to size issues. Furthermore, it employs clearance grooves and material extraction grooves within the cavity to address the problem of material difficulty in removal when the material size matches the cavity size. Additionally, angle markings on the upper surface of the cavity facilitate angle identification during layup. The cavity structure for prepreg tape placement also aids in dimensional positioning during splicing, reducing gaps or uneven overlaps caused by manual splicing by matching the material cutting dimensions to the cavity. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solution of this utility model, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the prepreg tape layup auxiliary device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the material carrying component according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the clamping assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a structural schematic diagram of the ultrasonic spot welding head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] The corresponding reference numerals in the figure are as follows: 1. Material carrying component; 11. Cavity; 12. Clearance groove; 13. Material picking groove; 14. Limiting groove; 15. Limiting plate; 16. Angle mark; 2. Pressing component; 21. Pressing block; 22. Telescopic connecting rod; 23. Drive mechanism; 3. Welding component; 31. Ultrasonic spot welding head; 32. Spherical protrusion. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0026] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "upper," "lower," "inner," "outer," "top," and "bottom," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or regarding the vertical, perpendicular, or gravitational direction of the component itself. These terms are used only for the convenience of describing this utility model and for 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 limitations on this utility model. The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature.

[0027] Unless otherwise defined, the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The terminology used herein is for descriptive purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Terms such as “part” or “component” appearing herein can refer to a single part or a combination of multiple parts. Terms such as “installation,” “setup,” and “connection” appearing herein should be interpreted broadly; for example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can indicate that one component is directly attached to another component, or that one component is attached to another component via an intermediate component, or that there is internal communication between two elements. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances. A feature described in one embodiment herein may be applied alone or in combination with other features to another embodiment, unless that feature is not applicable in that other embodiment or is otherwise stated.

[0028] The following combination Figure 1-4 This application provides a prepreg tape layup auxiliary device, including a material carrying component 1. The material carrying component 1 includes a cavity 11, and each corner of the cavity 11 is provided with a relief groove 12, the depth of which is the same as the depth of the cavity 11. The inner wall of the cavity 11 is provided with at least one material picking groove 13 and multiple limiting grooves 14 along its long side extension direction, the depth of which is greater than the depth of the cavity 11. The multiple limiting grooves 14 are symmetrically arranged on the inner walls of both sides of the cavity 11. The upper surface of the cavity 11 is provided with an angle mark 16, which includes at least one scale line for indicating the layup direction of the prepreg tape.

[0029] Examples of embodiments in this application, such as Figure 1 and 2 As shown, the cavity 11 of the material carrying component is used to place the prepreg tape. Its size is designed according to the molding die and is consistent with the size of the molding die. The depth is determined according to the product thickness. An avoidance groove 12 is provided at the corner of the cavity 11. Its depth is the same as that of the cavity 11 to avoid stress concentration. The inner wall of the cavity 11 is provided with at least one material picking groove 13 and multiple limiting grooves 14 along the long side. The depth of the material picking groove 13 is slightly greater than the depth of the cavity 11 to facilitate material picking. The limiting grooves 14 are symmetrically arranged to facilitate the insertion of limiting plates 15 to fix materials of different lengths.

[0030] This application's prepreg tape layup auxiliary device utilizes a cavity fixture with dimensions consistent with the molding die to effectively control the size of the layup blank, reducing misalignment and difficulties in mold entry due to size issues. Furthermore, it employs clearance grooves and material extraction grooves within the cavity to address the problem of material difficulty in removal when the material size matches the cavity size. Additionally, angle markers 16 on the upper surface of the cavity 11 facilitate angle identification during layup. The cavity structure for prepreg tape placement also aids in dimensional positioning during prepreg tape splicing, reducing gaps or uneven overlaps caused by manual splicing by matching the material cutting dimensions to the cavity.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the clearance groove 12 is preferably cylindrical in shape, which is convenient for processing.

[0032] Furthermore, the depth of the material picking groove 13 is 1-5mm greater than the depth of the cavity 11. This design, where the depth of the material picking groove 13 is 1-5mm greater than the depth of the cavity 11, makes it easier for hands or tools to reach into the material picking groove 13 to retrieve materials, making the materials easier to remove, reducing material retrieval time, and improving overall operating efficiency.

[0033] Furthermore, a limiting plate 15 can be inserted between the two opposing limiting grooves 14 to fix materials of different lengths.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the limiting groove 14 consists of multiple symmetrically arranged inner grooves on both sides. The limiting plate 15 can be adjusted according to the actual material stacking position and inserted into the limiting groove 14 at different positions to fix materials of different lengths, ensuring that the materials remain stable during the stacking process and reducing displacement. The design of the limiting groove 14 allows the device to adapt to materials of various lengths, improving the versatility of the device.

[0035] Furthermore, such as Figure 3 As shown, the prepreg tape layup auxiliary device also includes a pressing component 2. The pressing component 2 includes a pressing block 21, a telescopic connecting rod 22 and a driving mechanism 23. The pressing block 21 is connected to the driving mechanism 23 through the telescopic connecting rod 22 and moves along the upper surface of the cavity 11 under the control and drive of the driving mechanism 23 to realize the pressing operation of the material.

[0036] Furthermore, the width of the pressure block 21 is smaller than the width of the cavity 11.

[0037] Furthermore, the pressure block 21 is detachably connected to the telescopic connecting rod 22 and can rotate around its own axis.

[0038] Furthermore, the drive mechanism 23 is a pneumatic or electric rotary pressure vessel.

[0039] In this embodiment, the clamping component 2 can be one or more, fixed on or around the cavity 11, for fixing and clamping the prepreg tape. This design allows for flexible adjustment of the number and position of the clamping components according to the size and shape of the prepreg tape to adapt to different layup requirements. Preferably, the clamping component 2 can be designed as two, distributed at both ends of the cavity 11, to achieve clamping of both ends of the prepreg tape, ensuring greater stability of the prepreg tape during the layup process.

[0040] The pressing block 21 of the pressing assembly 2 is connected to the drive mechanism 23 via a telescopic connecting rod 22, and moves along the upper surface of the cavity 11 under the control of the drive mechanism 23 to achieve the pressing operation of the material. The width of the pressing block 21 is smaller than the width of the cavity 11, ensuring that it can move freely on the upper surface of the cavity 11 while effectively pressing the material. The pressing block 21 and the telescopic connecting rod 22 are detachably connected, which facilitates the replacement and maintenance of the pressing block 21. The telescopic connecting rod 22 can be designed as a socket-type electric telescopic rod or a hydraulic telescopic rod. At the same time, the pressing block 21 is rotatably connected to the telescopic connecting rod 22 via a connector, allowing it to rotate around its own axis. This allows for flexible adjustment of the angle of the pressing block 21 according to the shape and layup direction of the prepreg tape, improving the pressing effect. The drive mechanism 23 can be a pneumatic or electric rotary press, which drives the pressing block 21 to move along the upper surface of the cavity 11 by air pressure or electricity. This design enables an automated pressing process and improves operating efficiency.

[0041] Furthermore, such as Figure 4 As shown, the prepreg tape layup auxiliary device also includes a welding assembly 3, which includes an ultrasonic spot welding head 31. The ultrasonic spot welding head 31 is electrically connected to an ultrasonic generator, and the spot welding surface of the ultrasonic spot welding head 31 is provided with uniformly distributed spherical protrusions 32. Further, the protrusion height of the spherical protrusions 32 is 0.2-2mm.

[0042] In this embodiment, the ultrasonic spot welding head 31 is connected to an ultrasonic generator, and the spot welding surface of the ultrasonic spot welding head 31 is provided with uniformly distributed spherical protrusions 32. In some possible embodiments, the protrusion height of the spherical protrusions 32 can be 0.2mm, 1.5mm, 1mm, 1.5mm, or 2mm. The spherical protrusions 32 are evenly distributed across the entire spot welding surface. During spot welding, the spherical protrusions 32 exert a large compressive pressure on the prepreg tape due to their small contact area, making the ultrasonic spot welding head 31 less prone to movement during ultrasonic vibration, thus serving to fix the material. The ultrasonic spot welding head 31 can be fixed with a bracket or lifting ring to reduce its weight during use.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the material-bearing component 1 is made of stainless steel, with an outer cavity 11 measuring 300*100mm and an inner cavity measuring 230*30*10mm, forming a rectangular prism. The four corner clearance grooves 12 are cylindrical grooves with a diameter of 5mm and a depth of 10mm, matching the cavity depth. Three material-receiving grooves 13 are spaced apart on one side of the inner wall of the cavity 11. Each groove 13 is a semicircle with a diameter of 20mm and a depth of 13mm, with its bottom section extending 1mm beyond the bottom surface of the cavity 11. Three sets of limiting grooves 14 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the inner wall of the cavity 11 at positions 30mm, 50mm, and 70mm from one end, with a groove width of 2mm, a depth of 2mm, and a height of 10mm. Limiting plates 15 can be inserted into the limiting grooves 14. Angle scale lines of 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135° are engraved on the upper surface of the cavity 11.

[0044] Two clamping components 2 are provided at both ends on one side of the cavity 11. The pneumatic rotary pressure tank, i.e., the driving mechanism 23, drives the telescopic connecting rod 22 to rotate and press down. The telescopic connecting rod 22 consists of two sections that can extend and retract 60-120mm. A 35*20*5mm pressure block 21 is fixed at the end of the telescopic connecting rod 22 to fix and clamp the prepreg tape. A lifting ring is set at the middle of the same side of the two pneumatic rotary pressure tanks to fix the ultrasonic spot welding head 31. The ultrasonic spot welding head 31 has a diameter of 5mm, and multiple spherical protrusions 32 with a diameter of 0.5mm and a height of 0.3mm are evenly distributed on the welding surface of its lower end.

[0045] The operation procedure for prepreg tape layup using the prepreg tape layup auxiliary device of this application is as follows:

[0046] Material positioning: Place the pre-prepared carbon fiber tapes of the cut size into the cavity 11 in sequence according to the structure, and align them with the scale lines on the surface of the cavity 11 according to the layup angle requirements (0° / 45° / 90° / 135°); when the material size of 230mm×30mm×0.2mm is consistent with the cavity size, remove the limiting plate 15 and lay it up; when the material length is 160mm / 180mm / 200mm, insert the limiting plate 15 into the corresponding limiting groove, align one end of the material, and control the material deviation to ≤1mm.

[0047] Splicing and welding: When splicing the prepreg tapes, first put the prepreg tapes into the cavity 11, and then control the pressure block 21 to apply a certain pressure to fix the prepreg tapes through the drive mechanism 23. Check and start the ultrasonic spot welding head 31 (frequency 20kHz, power 800W) to weld 3-5 points in the overlapping area. The single point welding time is 0.3 seconds.

[0048] Interlayer fixing: During the stacking process, every 5 layers, pressure blocks 21 are used to press down the prepreg tape on both sides of the material to prevent interlayer misalignment. Then, ultrasonic spot welding head 31 is used to weld one positioning point at each of the four corners of the material (welding depth 0.1mm).

[0049] Material handling operation: After the stacking is completed, insert a stainless steel pry bar (10mm in diameter) from the bottom of the material handling slot and apply upward force to the three material handling slots 13 in sequence until the material is separated from the cavity; during the material handling process, keep the prying angle ≤30° to avoid material breakage.

[0050] Comparison table of technical effects of the embodiments:

[0051] Test Project Traditional hand-laid The effect of this device Ply angle deviation ±5° ±1° Material breakage rate 12％ 0.5％ Single-layer layup time 120 seconds 50 seconds splicing gap ±2mm ±1mm

[0052] It is evident that this device significantly outperforms traditional manual layup methods in key indicators such as layup angle deviation, material breakage rate, single-layer layup time, and splicing gap. Through automated and precise design, this device not only improves the quality and efficiency of prepreg layup but also significantly reduces material loss.

[0053] Obviously, the embodiments described above are merely some of the embodiments in this specification, and not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this specification, those skilled in the art can make other variations or modifications without creative effort, and all such variations should fall within the scope of protection of the embodiments in this specification.

Claims

1. A prepreg tape layup auxiliary device, characterized in that, include: Material carrying component (1); The material carrying component (1) includes a cavity (11), and each corner of the cavity (11) is provided with a relief groove (12), the depth of which is the same as the depth of the cavity (11); the inner wall of the cavity (11) is provided with at least one material picking groove (13) and multiple limiting grooves (14) along its long side extension direction, the depth of which is greater than the depth of the cavity (11); the multiple limiting grooves (14) are symmetrically arranged on the inner walls of both sides of the cavity (11); The upper surface of the cavity (11) is provided with an angle mark (16), which includes at least one scale line for indicating the layup direction of the prepreg tape.

2. The prepreg tape layup auxiliary device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The clearance groove (12) is cylindrical in shape.

3. The prepreg tape layup auxiliary device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The depth of the material receiving groove (13) is 1-5 mm greater than the depth of the cavity (11).

4. The prepreg tape layup auxiliary device according to claim 1, characterized in that, A limiting plate (15) can be inserted between the two opposing limiting grooves (14) to fix materials of different lengths.

5. The prepreg tape layup auxiliary device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It includes a clamping assembly (2), which includes a pressure block (21), a telescopic connecting rod (22), and a drive mechanism (23); The pressure block (21) is connected to the drive mechanism (23) via the telescopic connecting rod (22) and moves along the upper surface of the cavity (11) under the control of the drive mechanism (23) to achieve the pressing operation of the material.

6. The prepreg tape layup auxiliary device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The width of the pressure block (21) is smaller than the width of the cavity (11).

7. The prepreg tape layup auxiliary device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The pressure block (21) is detachably connected to the telescopic connecting rod (22) and can rotate around its own axis.

8. The prepreg tape layup auxiliary device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The drive mechanism (23) is a pneumatic or electric rotary pressure vessel.

9. The prepreg tape layup auxiliary device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a welding assembly (3), which includes an ultrasonic spot welding head (31) that is electrically connected to an ultrasonic generator. The spot welding surface of the ultrasonic spot welding head (31) is provided with uniformly distributed spherical protrusions (32).

10. The prepreg tape layup auxiliary device according to claim 9, characterized in that, The height of the spherical protrusion (32) is 0.2-2mm.

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