Fiber Roving Deposition Device for Textile Planar Structures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for producing textile planar structures with fiber rovings suffer from complex and wasteful cutting processes, leading to significant scrap of expensive fiber material, especially when trying to achieve a shape that closely matches the final component contour.
Innovation Solution
A device featuring a movable depositing face with path guiding rails, gripper units, and cutting units that allow for precise positioning and tensioning of fiber rovings, enabling the production of textile planar structures with minimal cutting waste by depositing fiber roving portions beside or on top of each other at desired locations, approximating the final component contour.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If fiber rovings are deposited beside one another on a transportation belt to produce web-shaped textile planar structures, then the textile planar structure can be produced continuously, but the subsequent trimming step becomes complex and causes significant cutting waste of expensive fiber material
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining the final contour of the component directly on the depositing face before fiber roving deposition begins. The contour definition unit creates a template that guides the deposition process, ensuring that fiber rovings are deposited only within the boundaries of the final component shape. This eliminates the need for subsequent trimming operations and prevents fiber material waste while maintaining continuous production capability.
2Manufacturing precision
If the terminal positions of gripper units are set independently to reduce cutting waste and produce shapes closer to the final contour, then the shape accuracy improves, but handling difficulties arise due to slippage and relatively sizeable cutting waste remains
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism - the depositing face with defined contour and the coordinated control system - that mediates between the gripper units and the final product shape. The depositing face acts as a reference surface that guides all gripper units to their precise terminal positions, eliminating handling difficulties. The contour definition unit serves as an intermediary that translates the desired final shape into specific deposition parameters for each gripper unit, ensuring both shape accuracy and ease of operation.
3Productivity
If individual fiber roving portions are deposited by gripper units on a moving transportation belt, then continuous production is enabled, but the trimming step becomes complex and cutting waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies inversion by reversing the conventional approach: instead of depositing fiber rovings on a moving transportation belt and then trimming the web-shaped structure, the invention deposits fiber rovings directly onto a stationary depositing face that already has the final contour defined. This eliminates the transportation belt and subsequent trimming step entirely, simplifying the device while maintaining continuous production capability through coordinated multi-axis movement of gripper units.
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
The solution significantly improves handling and reduces cutting waste, allowing for the production of textile planar structures that closely match the desired component shape with increased productivity and flexibility in fiber orientation and reinforcement placement.
Implementation Method 1
a tensile force is exerted on the fiber roving in the longitudinal direction thereof
Implementation Method 2
each of the gripper units comprises a downholder, by way of which the fiber roving, or the fiber rovings, respectively, in the region of the respective terminal position can be pressed against the depositing face
Data Source
AI summary
A device for producing textile planar structures formed of a plurality of portions deposited beside one another of fiber rovings. A supply device provides a fiber rovings at a transfer installation. A plurality of path guiding rails are disposed beside one another and above the depositing face. A gripper unit and a cutting unit are disposed on each path guiding rail. Each gripper unit and each cutting unit is movable and positionable along the path guiding rail independently of the gripper units and cutting units of the other path guiding rails. The gripper units grab the fiber roving from the transfer installation and move their free end to a desired terminal position. The cutting units severs the rovings at a cutting position. The gripper units and the cutting units have a downholder for pressing the fiber roving against the depositing face.