Fiber Feeding Device for Non-Overlapping Tape Lamination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) apparatuses face challenges in laminating prepreg tapes or dry tapes without overlapping, which limits the ability to change the total width of laminated tape materials and reduces lamination efficiency, especially when trying to laminate along curved lines or with varying tape widths.
Innovation Solution
A fiber feeding device equipped with rollers and a belt conveyor that allows for non-overlapping arraying of tapes in the width direction, using brakes and guide rollers to selectively feed out tapes and a suction chuck to prevent misalignment, enabling simultaneous lamination of multiple tapes without overlapping and adjusting the total width by changing the number and width of tapes fed out.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple tapes are laminated simultaneously to improve lamination efficiency, then the lamination efficiency is improved, but the tapes must be overlapped with each other which prevents changing the total width of laminated tapes
Solution Approach 1:
The lamination head is divided into multiple independent lamination units, each capable of processing one tape. These units are arranged in the width direction of the tapes, allowing each unit to independently control its tape without interfering with adjacent units, thus enabling both simultaneous lamination and flexible width adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The lamination head can dynamically adjust the number of active lamination units based on the required total width. By selectively activating or deactivating individual lamination units, the system can adapt to different width requirements while maintaining efficient simultaneous lamination of multiple tapes.
2Productivity
If tapes are overlapped to be laminated, then lamination efficiency is improved, but it becomes difficult to laminate along curved lines due to viscosity differences in inner and outer tapes
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the lamination process into independent units arranged in the width direction, each unit can independently control its tape's path and tension. This eliminates the differential tension problems that occur with overlapped tapes on curved surfaces, as each tape is processed separately rather than as an overlapping stack.
Solution Approach 2:
The lamination units act as intermediaries between the tape supply and the final laminated product. Each unit independently manages its tape through guide rollers and pressing members, allowing for individual adjustment of tape path curvature and tension, thus facilitating curved line lamination without the constraints of overlapped tape configurations.
3Productivity
If the width of tape materials is increased to maintain lamination efficiency, then fewer tapes need to be laminated, but the lamination head components interfere with each other
Solution Approach 1:
The lamination head is segmented into multiple narrow, independent units arranged in the width direction. This segmentation allows each unit to process a narrower tape width without component interference, while the collective array of units maintains high lamination efficiency by processing multiple tapes simultaneously. The modular design eliminates the interference problems that would occur with a single large-width lamination head.
4Productivity
If multiple lamination heads are arranged alternately in the feeding direction to laminate many tapes, then more tapes can be laminated simultaneously, but the apparatus becomes large-scale and complex
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of arranging lamination heads in the feeding direction (longitudinal arrangement), the invention arranges multiple lamination units in the width direction (transversal arrangement) of the tapes. This dimensional reconfiguration allows multiple tapes to be laminated simultaneously without requiring a long, complex apparatus, as all units work in parallel across the width rather than in sequence along the length.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple lamination units are merged into a single integrated lamination head structure. Rather than using separate, alternating lamination heads that would require complex coordination and spacing, the invention combines multiple functional units into one cohesive assembly that processes multiple tapes simultaneously in a compact configuration.
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 solution allows for efficient lamination of tapes without overlapping, enabling the production of composite materials with complex forms by changing the number and width of tapes, reducing the complexity and size of the lamination head, and improving lamination efficiency along curved paths.
Implementation Method 1
a brake (9) for stopping first feeding out of at least one first tape (T) out of the tapes when the at least one first tape (T) of which the first feeding out should be stopped is designated
Implementation Method 2
a belt conveyor (11) for feeding out second feeding out of at least one second tape (T) selected out of the tapes when at least one roller (10) which does not guide the at least one first tape is selected from the rollers
Implementation Method 3
a suction chuck (21) for sucking the tape to prevent the tape from being misaligned in a width direction of the tape
Data Source
AI summary
A fiber feeding device includes rollers, a brake and a belt conveyor. The rollers guide feeding out of tapes. The tapes are arrayed without overlapping the tapes in a width direction. The brake stops first feeding out of a first tape. The belt conveyor feeds out second feeding out of a second tape. The second tape is guided by a selected roller. The second tape is fed out by being sandwiched between the selected roller and the belt conveyor. The selected roller approaches the belt conveyor to sandwich the second tape between the selected roller and the belt conveyor while a nonselected roller retreats from the belt conveyor to prevent a third tape from being sandwiched between the nonselected roller and the belt conveyor. The third tape is guided by the nonselected roller. The third tape includes the first tape.