Motorized Cut and Feed Head for Composite Fiber Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fiber placement machines face challenges in cutting and restarting fiber bundles at high rates, maintaining accessibility for servicing and cleaning, and applying fibers in concave or discontinuous surfaces with existing designs.
Innovation Solution
A fiber placement head with individual roller sets, including a drive roll and backup roll, equipped with a cutter and restart mechanism on the drive roll's circumference, synchronized by a servo motor, and an auxiliary pinch and restart roller set for dispensing short fibers and navigating concave surfaces, with a locking mechanism for easy maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the cutter is positioned close to the compaction roll to enable short fiber laying, then the minimum fiber length is reduced, but the accessibility for servicing and cleaning deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The head is divided into modular sections with the cutter, compaction roll, and drive rolls arranged as separable units. The frame can be opened to provide access to internal components, allowing servicing and cleaning without compromising the compact cutter positioning needed for short fiber laying.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutter and compaction roll are positioned close together in the horizontal plane to enable short fiber laying, while the frame structure provides vertical and lateral access paths for servicing. The auxiliary pinch roll is positioned in a different spatial dimension to facilitate maintenance without interfering with the compact cutter arrangement.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the V-shaped fiber path is pointed to reach concave regions, then accessibility to concave surfaces is improved, but the fiber path length increases reducing application rate
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber path geometry is made adjustable through the positioning of the auxiliary pinch roll and the configurable frame structure. The system can dynamically adapt the V-shape point position and angle to match the specific concave geometry being worked on, optimizing both access and path length for each application scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The auxiliary pinch roll acts as an intermediary element that can be positioned to create the necessary fiber path geometry for accessing concave regions. This intermediate component allows the system to reach into concave areas without requiring the entire fiber path to be excessively long, thereby maintaining higher application rates.
3Productivity
If the drive roll carries cutter and restart mechanisms to enable high-rate cutting and restarting, then productivity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cutter mechanism and restart mechanism are merged into a single integrated system on the drive roll. The cutter blade, anvil, and restart fingers are positioned in close proximity and coordinated through the same drive roll rotation, allowing cutting and restarting operations to be performed sequentially without requiring separate complex mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The drive roll serves multiple functions: it drives the fiber tow through the system, positions the cutter blade for cutting operations, positions the anvil for cutting support, and positions the restart fingers for fiber restart. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated mechanisms for each operation, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining high productivity.
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
Enables high-rate cutting and restarting of fiber bundles, improved accessibility for cleaning and servicing, and the ability to apply short fibers in complex surface geometries without resin transfer, enhancing fiber application efficiency and reducing maintenance needs.
Implementation Method 1
The drive roll is geared to and meshes with a back-up roll that is half the diameter of the drive roll and that captures the tow material in a drive roll nip that is formed therebetween
Implementation Method 2
a cutter for the composite material
Implementation Method 3
The roller sets are synchronized to match the dispensing speed of the tow material by means of a servo motor geared to each individual lane roller set
Data Source
AI summary
A motorized head for applying fiber composite material to an application surface includes a drive roll and a backup roll for feeding fiber composite material toward the application surface, a compaction roll for pressing fiber composite material onto the application surface, and a restart pinch roll assembly located between the drive roll and the compaction roll for driving fiber composite material received from the drive roll to the compaction roll. The drive roll nip between the drive roll and the backup roll forms a drive zone that grips and drives the composite material, a clamp zone that prevents movement of the composite material after it has been cut, and a free zone that allows composite material to be freely pulled through the head. Two cutters mounted on the drive roll mesh with a single anvil on the backup roll to cut the composite material to the desired length.