Composite Corner Molding Jig Two-Step Shaping
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for molding composite materials with curved corners often result in poor molding due to excessive pressure leading to wrinkles and thickening on the outer sides, causing inefficiencies and suboptimal results.
Innovation Solution
A method using a molding jig with a male mold and correction members to adjust bending angles, allowing for a two-step shaping process that decreases thickness from the outer to the inner side of the corner, thereby preventing wrinkles and improving molding efficiency by elongating the perimeter on the outer sides.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If pressure is applied from outside the fiber reinforced laminated body to shape the shoulders, then the shoulders are formed with close contact to the male mold, but the perimeter on the outer side in the thickness direction becomes short, causing wrinkles and thickening on the outer side of the shoulders
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies preliminary action by pre-curving the fiber reinforced laminated body to form a preform with curved corners before the final molding process. This preliminary shaping creates the necessary geometric configuration that prevents wrinkles and thickening during subsequent pressure application, as the material is already positioned to accommodate the corner geometry without excess perimeter shortening
Solution Approach 2:
The invention segments the molding process into distinct stages: first forming the preform with curved corners, then applying pressure for final molding. This segmentation allows the corner geometry to be established separately from the pressure application, avoiding the simultaneous occurrence of corner formation and thickness reduction that causes wrinkles
2Volume of moving object
If the perimeter on the outer side in the thickness direction is short, then the thickness of the laminated body is reduced, but this causes excess material to generate wrinkles and thickening on the outer side of the shoulders
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies curvature by forming curved corners with a specific radius of curvature in the preform. This curvature distributes the material flow and stress during molding, preventing the concentration of excess material that would otherwise cause wrinkles and thickening on the outer side of the shoulders
3Shape
If a male mold with top face, shoulders, and side faces is used, then the laminated body can be shaped with curved surfaces, but pressure application from outside causes the shoulders to have small thickness and short perimeter on the outer side
Solution Approach 1:
The preform is prepared in advance with the curved corner geometry already formed, so that during the final molding process, the material is already positioned correctly. This preliminary action ensures uniform thickness distribution on the shoulders without the defects caused by forming curved surfaces under pressure
Data Source
AI summary
A method for molding a composite material in which a curved corner is formed between two planes by using a molding jig includes: shaping a laminated body in such a manner that a thickness of the laminated body is decreased from an outer side toward an inner side of the corner, by using the molding jig in which the angle formed by the two planes is a first bending angle, the laminated body including fiber sheets laminated so as to have the corner curved at the first bending angle; and shaping the laminated body in such a manner that the thickness is decreased from the outer side toward the inner side by curving the corner so as to form a second bending angle, by using the molding jig in which the angle formed by the two planes is the second bending angle smaller than the first bending angle.