Composite Structure Resin Injection Gap Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing composite vehicle body structures, such as airframe and fuselage structures, face challenges including excessively long production times, material wastage, dimensional inaccuracy, and inadequate structural quality, particularly when dealing with complex geometries and tight tolerances.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of a mould to arrange two components, where a polymer or resin material is injected to fill gaps between them, curing to bond the components, and optionally reinforced with mechanical fastening elements, allowing for quick and accurate assembly with minimal shimming requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If shimming is used to close gaps between hard components, then assembly gaps are compensated, but production time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines gap compensation and bonding operations into a single injection moulding process. The resin injection simultaneously fills gaps between components and bonds them together, eliminating the need for separate shimming operations and reducing production time from multiple hours to a single continuous process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses liquid resin injection under pressure to fill gaps and bond components. The hydraulic injection system delivers resin into the assembly cavity, using fluid pressure to penetrate and fill gaps between hard components, replacing the manual or mechanical shimming process.
2Manufacturing precision
If co-curing or co-bonding is used with soft components, then assembly tolerances are improved, but handling difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the resin from liquid (during injection and handling) to solid (during curing). This parameter change allows the resin to be easily injected and positioned before bonding, while the cured state provides the required structural integrity and tolerance precision for hard component assemblies.
3Manufacturing precision
If milling is used to create mating surfaces, then surface quality is improved, but material wastage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the gap-filling function from the component manufacturing process itself and performs it separately through resin injection. Instead of removing material (milling) to create precise mating surfaces, the resin is injected to fill remaining gaps, preserving the original components and avoiding material wastage.
4Manufacturing precision
If multiple process steps are used for shimming, then gap compensation is achieved, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges gap compensation, positioning, and bonding operations into a single injection moulding process. The resin injection simultaneously achieves all three functions that previously required separate shimming steps, simplifying the overall process from multiple discrete operations to one continuous operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables fast, accurate, and weight-optimized assembly of composite structures with improved structural quality by filling gaps and compensating for tolerances in a single injection moulding operation, reducing production time and material wastage.
Implementation Method 1
The polymer or resin material is typically injected in liquid form thus enabling it to readily and quickly spread and fill any gaps or spaces between the two components
Implementation Method 2
curing or setting the polymer or resin material within the mould to bond the first component to the second component in the structure
Data Source
Figure 1~2d
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method of producing a composite structure (S), such as an airframe or fuselage of an aircraft (A). The method comprises the steps of: arranging a first component (W) within a cavity (2) of a mould (1); arranging a second component (P) adjacent the cavity (2) of the mould (1) containing the first component (W) and sealing the cavity (2) against the second component (P); injecting a polymer or resin (9) into the cavity (2) of the mould (1) to infuse and/or pervade gaps or spaces between the first component (W) and the second component (P); and curing or setting the polymer or resin (9) within the mould (1) to bond the first component (W) with the second component (P) and so form the composite structure. The invention also provides a system (100) for carrying out the above method.