Free-Form Composite Structures With Stress-Aligned Fibre Layout
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods and materials fail to produce lightweight objects with high mechanical and structural performance while being sustainable, as existing sustainable materials lack the necessary performance and non-sustainable materials have high environmental impact.
Innovation Solution
A unified and automated process integrating digital design, simulation, weight optimization, and automated manufacturing with novel composite materials, optimizing shape and fibre orientation to create lightweight, high-performance objects with complex geometries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If sustainable materials such as wood-based products and plant fibre composites are used, then environmental impact is reduced, but mechanical performance and structural efficiency are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses wood fibres or particles as the base material and combines them with natural resins (principle 40). This composite structure allows the material to achieve both sustainability and high mechanical performance, resolving the contradiction between environmental friendliness and structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies different material properties to different regions of the object. By optimizing fibre orientation and distribution locally according to stress patterns, the material achieves high strength where needed while maintaining overall sustainability (principle 3).
2Strength
If aluminium and carbon fibre reinforced plastics are used, then mechanical performance and structural efficiency are improved, but environmental impact and CO2 emissions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the material parameters from synthetic carbon fibres to natural wood fibres, and from petroleum-based resins to natural resins (principle 35). This parameter change maintains structural performance while dramatically reducing environmental impact and CO2 emissions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses renewable, biodegradable natural materials that can be sustainably replenished, replacing non-renewable aluminium and carbon fibres (principle 27). This approach reduces dependence on finite resources and lowers environmental impact.
3Ease of manufacture
If woven textile composite materials are used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but structural efficiency decreases due to limited anisotropy
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a thermoplastic matrix that can be dynamically adjusted during processing (principle 15). The material transitions from a loose fibre mat to a consolidated composite structure under heat and pressure, allowing the fibres to reorient and follow stress paths dynamically during manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes fibre orientation locally to match stress patterns in different regions of the object (principle 3). This creates variable anisotropy throughout the structure, with fibres aligned to provide maximum strength where needed, rather than using uniform woven patterns.
4Ease of manufacture
If plywood composites are used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but shape flexibility is restricted and weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses discrete wood fibres or particles rather than continuous veneer sheets (principle 1). This segmentation allows the material to flow and conform to complex three-dimensional shapes during manufacturing, eliminating the shape restrictions of plywood while reducing weight through optimized material distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material state from rigid veneer layers to thermoplastic fibres/particles that can be softened and reshaped (principle 35). This allows the material to be molded into complex free-form geometries without the shape restrictions of traditional plywood, while the thermoplastic binding enables consolidation into lightweight structures.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for designing and manufacturing free-form objects made of composite material and optimised in their weight ratio and load capacity; a system for the design and manufacture of said objects, and the objects resulting from said method. Using three-dimensional (3D) design computer programs and computer calculation programs, the design of a composite material object is obtained, with a specific shape and orientation of its component fragments, optimised to be light and at the same time to meet a required specific mechanical and/or structural performance. Subsequently, a mould of at least two parts is obtained from this design and the parameters of said design are transformed into instructions so that one or more automated manufacturing machines deposit fragments of wood or another material onto the lower part of the mould in specific orientations, calculated to minimise the weight of the object and optimise its load capacity. Then, with the addition of one or more binders, the object is pressed between the parts of said mould. Finally, the new manufactured object is obtained by removing it from the mould.