Applicator Head for Composite Tape

Abstract

The applicator head (1) is for applying a composite tape (2) supplied from a supply reel (3) to a lamination surface, the tape (2) being formed by a composite material layer (2.1) disposed on a support layer (2.2). The applicator head (1) includes a cutting means (30), a compression means (40), and / or a collection means (50). The cutting means (30) is displaced such that a first displacement direction of a first blade (31) forms an angle with respect to a second displacement direction of a second blade (32). The compression means (40) includes an application separator (41) configured to separate the composite material layer (2.1) from the support layer (2.2) at a height above the lamination surface. The collection means (50) includes a collection separator (52) configured to separate unused composite material layer (2.1) and collect it in a collection container (53).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an industry related to the attachment of composite tapes for forming laminated products used in industries such as aviation and shipbuilding, and more specifically, to an industry using a tape applicator head for attaching such composite tapes.

Background Art

[0002] Currently, heads for attaching composite tapes, which are mainly used to form laminated parts in the aerospace industry, are known for attaching layers of composite materials by precise overlaying. The demand for lightweight and more energy-efficient aircraft has led to a gradual and direct replacement from metal parts to composite materials, enabling the development of integrated designs.

[0003] Therefore, there is a need for a head for attaching composite material tapes that shortens production time while maintaining the quality of the final product at the same time. This type of head includes compression means that act on the composite tape to press the composite tape and fix it to the surface for lamination to fix the compression, preventing the formation of air bubbles that render the part including it unusable.

[0004] Patent Document 1, which is of the same applicant as the present application, mentions this type of head. This head includes cutting means for installing the start end of the tape on the surface for lamination and cutting the end of the attached tape while the head advances. However, when performing a straight cut, the head must be stopped to cut the composite tape, otherwise there will be a surplus at the end of the lamination surface. As a result, the lamination time of the composite tape becomes longer, accompanied by a corresponding increase in production costs. Alternatively, an additional cutting process is required to remove the surplus, resulting in additional costs for materials and post-treatment time.

[0005] Another drawback of this method is that the head has to move away from the area where the tape is to be applied in order to discard the waste fiber parts that should not remain on the part. This is unproductive time during which the fibers are not laminated, increasing the production time.

[0006] For the application process, this head further includes compression means consisting of a holding element and a pressure element, which act continuously and independently on the surface for lamination. Both elements can be tilted between their respective operating and retracted positions, whereby first the holding element acts by pressing the tape against the surface for lamination to attach the tape to the surface for lamination, and subsequently the pressure element acts by forcibly compressing the attached tape.

[0007] The drawback of this compression mechanism is that the holding element presses the composite fiber together with the fiber support paper against the surface for lamination, thereby breaking the tension of the paper. As a result of the paper unwinding and paper guiding, if the fibers lose tension, it hinders the attachment of the composite tape and the recovery of the paper, which may also lead to the lamination of defective fibers during the stop of the manufacturing process due to the need for maintenance of the tape applicator head.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0008]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] Considering the described drawbacks or limitations in the existing methods, a solution is needed to improve the dynamics of the head and be able to apply the composite tape in a way that allows for high-speed and reliable application without machine stops or additional cutting processes.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] To meet this object and solve the technical problems described heretofore, and to provide additional advantages that can be derived later, the present invention provides an applicator head for attaching a composite tape, preferably a composite tape supplied from a supply reel, to a surface for lamination. In a preferred form of the present invention, the tape is formed by a layer of composite material disposed on a support layer. The applicator head includes cutting means for cutting the supplied layer of composite material to be attached to the surface for lamination, and the layer of composite material is cut while being attached to the surface for lamination.

[0011] The cutting means of the applicator head for attaching the composite tape comprises a first blade displaceable longitudinally in a first displacement direction configured to cut the layer of composite material, and a second blade for cutting the layer of composite material displaceable in a second displacement direction, such that the first displacement direction of the first blade is angled with respect to the second displacement direction of the second blade.

[0012] With this configuration, when the layer of composite material is cut for its attachment, if the surface for lamination requires a straight cut of the layer of composite material, one of the two blades can cut during the forward movement of the applicator head depending on its displacement direction, so that it is not necessary to stop the applicator head. This configuration enables not only straight (perpendicular to the fiber movement direction) cutting, but also greatly different configurations in cutting the tape with a moving head, allowing for an efficient and fast production speed even with a complex shape of the surface for lamination. Thereby, the productivity of a machine for continuously attaching the layer of composite material without stopping the head is improved, enabling cutting while moving regardless of the cutting direction.

[0013] Preferably, one of the displacement directions of the blade is perpendicular to the supply direction of the composite material tape, so that the cutting of the composite material layer can be performed at a certain angle, and another blade angled with respect to the previous blade can perform a linear cut without stopping the tape attachment process. Therefore, the cutting means includes guiding means, along which a blade holding mechanism including a cutting blade is displaced longitudinally in the displacement direction. The guiding means can be in the form of, for example, a spindle, a linear actuator, a rack and pinion mechanism, etc.

[0014] The present invention also relates to an applicator head including compression means for compressing a supplied layer of composite material to be attached to the surface for lamination.

[0015] According to the present invention, the head comprises compression means including a compression roller configured to apply pressure to a layer of composite material attached to the surface for lamination. The compression means further comprises an attachment separator configured to separate the layer of composite material from the support layer by applying a separation pressure to the tape on the side of the support layer by the cut end of the layer of composite material, whereby the cut end of the layer of composite material separated by the attachment separator at a certain height from the surface for lamination faces the contact area between the compression roller and the surface for lamination.

[0016] With this configuration, the layer of composite material to be attached is separated, and the dropout of the lower layer is performed without holding the support layer against the surface for lamination. According to this, the tension of the support layer is not lost as occurs in some current embodiments. The compression means improves the dynamics of the applicator head, simplifies the handling of the support layer, and prevents the generation of bubbles that may occur when attaching the layer of composite material to the surface for lamination due to the loss of tension of the support layer. The pressurization for compressing the layer of composite material to its surface for lamination is directly applied by the compression roller, which receives the cut end of the layer of composite material in the contact area with the surface for lamination, thereby improving the compression and preventing the generation of bubbles.

[0017] Preferably, the attachment separator is configured to separate the layer of composite material such that the separated layer of composite material contacts the compression roller before the layer of composite material contacts the surface for lamination. According to this, the compression roller receives the layer of composite material before attachment, whereby the attachment is smoother and the formation of wrinkles and bubbles is prevented.

[0018] Another feature of the present invention is that the attachment separator is displaceable to apply a separation pressure, whereby it is possible to select a portion of the composite strip to drop down and advance the material.

[0019] Preferably, the attachment separator is pivotable so as to move towards the contact area to apply a separation pressure. In this way, the separation of the layer of composite material is performed as close as possible to the contact area between the compression roller and the surface for lamination, ensuring accurate compression of the layer of composite material on the surface for lamination.

[0020] To contribute to this approach of the attachment separator to the contact area between the compression roller and the surface for lamination, the attachment separator preferably has its end in the shape of a wedge, and it is considered that the separation of the layer of composite material from the support layer is also more efficient.

[0021] The present invention also relates to an applicator head including recovery means for recovering the supplied layer of composite material that has not been used on the surface for lamination.

[0022] According to another aspect, the present invention provides an applicator head provided with recovery means for recovering the supplied layer of composite material that has not been used on the surface for lamination. The recovery means includes a recovery separator configured to separate the unused cut layer of composite material from the support layer by the cut end of the layer of composite material. This is done by applying a separation pressure to the tape on the side of the support layer. The recovery means also includes a recovery container for recovering the separated portion of the layer of composite material.

[0023] With this configuration, the excess of the layers of the supplied composite material that should not be attached to the surface for lamination, which occurs during cutting, is separated. As a result, in the storage reel holder around which the support layer is wound, the excess is prevented from being stored, and the reel can be used together with the support layer for reuse or recycling. By preventing the machine including the applicator head from being removed from the mold, additional processes are eliminated. Therefore, the production time is reduced, and costs and materials are saved.

[0024] Preferably, the separator of the recovery means is displaceable to apply a separation pressure to the tape at the exact time and selects the separation of only the excess of the layers of the composite material that has not been used.

[0025] For better dynamics and separation of the excess of the layers of the composite material that has not been used, the recovery means preferably includes at least two positioning rollers, and it is conceivable that the tape circulates along the positioning rollers to the storage reel holder, and the actuator is arranged between both positioning rollers. According to this, it advantageously acts on the application of the separation pressure of the tape to direct the excess towards the recovery container.

[0026] Furthermore, the recovery separator preferably includes protrusions for applying a separation pressure to the tape so as to facilitate the separation of the layers of the composite material that has not been used.

[0027] The present invention also envisages an applicator head including cutting means and / or compressing means and / or recovery means.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0028]

Figure 1

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Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0029] Based on the foregoing figures and with the attached reference numerals, there can be seen preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention, which include the parts and elements shown and described in detail below.

[0030] Figure 1 shows an applicator head (1) for applying a type of tape (2) used for attaching, by a close superposition of layers of a composite material (2.2), to form laminated parts mainly used in the aerospace industry. The applicator head (1) of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1 includes cutting means (30), compression means (40), and recovery means (50).

[0031] A mold is provided with a surface defined for the lamination to which the layer (2.2) of the composite material is to be attached. In a first step, a supply reel with a tape (2) consisting of a layer (2.1) of the composite material on a support layer (2.2) is placed in a supply reel holder (3). The layer (2.1) of the composite material has a greater rigidity than the support layer (2.2).

[0032] Next, the tape (2) is circulated through a guide (4). When the tape (2) reaches the cutting means (30), since the shape of the surface for the lamination to which the layer (2.1) of the composite material is to be laminated is known, the tape (2) is cut. The cutting is performed using blades (31, 32) with an accuracy such that the layer of the composite material to be attached can be cut without cutting the support layer (2.2).

[0033] To perform the cutting, the cutting means (30) includes a first blade (31) and a second blade (32). As can be seen in Figure 3, the first blade (31) is included in a first blade holder (37), and the first blade holder is longitudinally displaced in a first direction along guide means, as can be seen in Figures 2 and 4. The guide means, in this particular case, is a first spindle (33) arranged to make an angle with a perpendicular to the supply direction of the composite tape (2). In the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1, the supply direction is vertical, advancing along the guide (4), so that the first spindle (33) is angled with respect to the horizontal, defining the displacement of the blade (31) diagonally.

[0034] As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, the cutting means (30) also includes a second blade (32) included in a second blade holder (38), and the second blade holder is longitudinally displaced in a second displacement direction along a second spindle (34), and the second spindle (34) has a horizontal arrangement that defines the horizontal displacement of the second blade (32).

[0035] In this way, the actuator cylinder (36) laterally displaces the blade holders (37, 38) until the blades (31, 32) contact the tape (2), at which time the actuator (35) displaces the blade holders (37, 38) along the spindles (33, 34), whereby the blades (31, 32) can cause an initial cut in the tape (2). If necessary, a blade or another device is used according to the shape of the type of part to be produced, resulting in a cut end therefor of the layer (2.1) of the composite material to be attached.

[0036] Next, the cut tape (2) proceeds to compression means (40) for attaching the layer (2.1) of the composite material to the surface for lamination.

[0037] FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show a series of steps performed by compression means (40) for attaching the layer (2.1) of the composite material to the surface for lamination.

[0038] First, as can be seen in FIG. 5, the application separator (41) is in the retracted position and the tape (2) having the composite material layer (2.1) and the support layer (2.2) is advanced without being applied. When the applicator head (1) approaches the surface for its lamination, the application separator (41) applies a separation pressure to the tape (2). The movement of the application separator (41) is selected to separate the composite material layer (2.1) by the previously generated cut end. For this purpose, the application separator (41) pivots with respect to the connecting part (7) by the operation of the pneumatic actuator (8). When displaced by pivoting, the application separator (41) approaches as close as possible to the contact area between the compression roller (42) and the surface for lamination. The application separator (41) is wedge-shaped so as to advantageously act on the separation between the composite material layer (2.1) to be applied and the support layer (2.2).

[0039] As can be seen in FIG. 6, with the compression roller (42) already in contact with the surface for lamination by the operation of the applicator head (1), the application separator (41) applies pressure to the tape (2) in the operating position where the wedge-shaped end of the application separator (41) is located between the compression roller (42) and the surface for lamination. And the separation pressure is applied to the tape (2) at the height of the application separator (41) from the surface for lamination such that it does not act on the surface for lamination, that is, the tension of the support layer (2.2) at the applicator head (1) is not lost. Considering that the composite material layer (2.1) has greater rigidity than the support layer (2.2) when acting on the tape (2), when the separation pressure is applied, the tensioned tape (2) loses its shape when reaching the peeling angle thanks to the support by the guide roller (5). Thereby, the composite material layer (2.1) is separated from the paper support layer (2.2).

[0040] In this configuration, the application separator (41) directs the layer of composite material having its cut end towards the contact area with the compression roller (42) such that the separated layer of composite material (2.1) contacts the compression roller (42) before contacting the surface for lamination. In this way, the compression roller (42) contacts the contacting layer (2.1) of the composite material between the compression roller (42) and the surface for lamination, laminates the layer of composite material (2.1) onto the surface for lamination and applies a compressive force. Thereby, the formation of air bubbles that would cause the final part to exhibit defects, lose its properties, or be discarded is prevented.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 7, the layer of composite material (2.1) has already been separated from the support layer (2.2), and the layer of composite material (2.1) is attached to the surface for lamination and is being compressed by the compression roller (42). At this time, the application separator (41) returns to its retracted position.

[0042] The application of the layer of composite material (2.1) continues as the applicator head (1) advances until it reaches the end of the mold when the layer of composite material (2.1) is being applied. For this purpose, before reaching the end of the application of the layer of composite material (2.1), the cutting means (30) cuts the layer of composite material (2.1) such that the cutting direction conforms to the shape of the mold or the shape of the surface for lamination.

[0043] For this reason, when it is necessary to cut the tape (2) obliquely, without the need to stop the advancement of the head (1), the advancement of the head (1) is synchronized with the displacement of the second blade (32) such that the end of the cut layer of composite material (2.1) conforms to the shape of the end of the mold. However, if the cutting performed is not oblique but horizontal, this is not possible. For this reason, if the second blade (32) is used, it is necessary to stop the head (1) and displace the second blade (32) for cutting, which lengthens the manufacturing time.

[0044] To solve this problem, the forward movement of the head (1) is synchronized with the displacement of the first blade (31), so that due to the displacement of the first blade (31) being diagonal, a straight cut can be made without the need to stop the forward movement of the head (1). This further enables the cut for the next pasting, and the forward movement of the head (1) is not stopped.

[0045] When the layer (2.1) of the composite material is laminated on the surface for lamination, the tape (2) advances to the storage reel holder (6). Sometimes, the excess of the layer (2.1) of the composite material occurs between one cut and the next cut of the tape (2), and this excess remains on the tape (2) advancing to the storage reel holder (6). These excesses are usually removed manually when the reel is taken out from the storage reel holder (6), or in other cases, are laminated on the table outside the pasting area. This requires an additional process and, as a result, an increase in the manufacturing time.

[0046] According to a preferred feature of the present invention, the head (1) includes a recovery means (50) for recovering the supplied layer (2.1) of the composite material that has not been used on the surface for lamination. The series of steps for separating the excess of the layer (2.1) of the composite material from the support layer (2.2) can be seen in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10.

[0047] First, as seen in FIG. 8, a recovery separator (52) configured to separate the unused cut layer (2.1) of the composite material from the support layer (2.2) is arranged in a standby position above the tape (2).

[0048] Figure 9 shows how the recovery separator (52) acts on the cut end of the composite material layer (2.1) by applying a separation pressure to the tape (2) on the side of the support layer (2.2) by the operation of a pneumatic actuator. The recovery separator (52) is arranged between two positioning rollers (51) so as to form an angle that enables separation of the composite material layer due to the higher rigidity of the composite material layer (2.1) than the support layer (2.2) that travels along the path to the storage reel holder (6). The recovery separator (52) is thereby displaced to an operating position where it applies pressure to the tape (2), preferably with a protrusion (54), to effect separation of the composite material layer (2.1).

[0049] Figure 10 shows how the recovery separator (52) returns to a standby position where it does not apply pressure to the tape (2), the composite material layer (2.1) is separated and goes to the recovery container (53), and the remaining layer of the composite material (2.1) is recovered.

[0050] The reel containing only the support layer is thereby recovered to the storage reel holder (6) for later use or recycling.

[0051] The lamination of the first layer of the composite material (2.1) is thereby completed, and the head (1) is ready to attach the next layer of the composite material (2.1) to the surface for lamination.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0052] 1 Composite tape 2 Tape 2.1 Composite material layer 2.2 Support layer 3 Supply reel holder 4 Guide 5 Guide roller 6 Storage reel holder 7 Connection part 8 Pneumatic actuator 9 Displacement of tape 30 Cutting means 31 First blade 32 Second blade 33 First spindle 33 Second spindle 36 Actuator cylinder 37 First blade holder 38 Second blade holder 40 Compression means 41 Attachment separator 42 Compression roller 50 Recovery means 52 Recovery separator 53 Recovery container

Claims

Claim 1 An applicator head for attaching a composite tape (2) supplied from a supply reel (3) to a surface for lamination, wherein the tape (2) is formed by a layer (2.1) of composite material disposed on a support layer (2.2), and the applicator head includes cutting means (30) for cutting the supplied layer (2.1) of the composite material attached to the surface for lamination, the cutting means (30) comprising a first blade (31) longitudinally displaceable in a first displacement direction and configured to cut the layer (2.1) of the composite material, and a second blade (32) displaceable in a second displacement direction and configured to cut the layer of the composite material, wherein the first displacement direction of the first blade (31) is angled with respect to the second displacement direction of the second blade (32). An applicator head characterized by this. Claim 2 The applicator head (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the displacement direction of the first blade (31) or the second blade (32) is perpendicular to the supply direction of the composite tape (2). Claim 3 The applicator head (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cutting means (30) includes guide means (33, 34) for longitudinal displacement of the blades (31, 32) in the displacement direction.

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