Multilayer Composite Strip Segmentation for Continuous Winding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current manufacturing processes for composite materials using pre-impregnated fabric strips are manual, time-consuming, and prone to operator variability and safety risks, especially when winding on tapered mandrels, leading to inconsistent quality and mechanical strength.
Innovation Solution
A multilayer strip comprising two-dimensional fabric segments with yarns oriented at non-zero angles to each other, allowing for continuous winding and improved deformation, reducing manual operations and enhancing safety, with a process involving layer stacking, heating, compacting, and cooling to create a cohesive strip for efficient manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual feeding of fabric strip segments is used, then the operator can control the winding process, but the operation is time-consuming and has low repeatability
Solution Approach 1:
The fabric strip is divided into multiple segments with specific yarn orientations (0°, 45°, 90°) that can be stacked and wound sequentially. This segmentation allows automated handling while maintaining process control, resolving the contradiction between manual control and manufacturing speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The fabric segments are pre-cut and pre-oriented with specific yarn directions before winding. This preliminary preparation enables automated feeding systems to operate efficiently without requiring manual adjustment during the winding process, improving both repeatability and productivity.
2Ease of operation
If manual deformation and feeding of segments is performed, then the operator can adjust segment positioning, but safety risks increase due to proximity to rotating components
Solution Approach 1:
The fabric segments are designed with self-aligning features through their yarn orientation and stacking arrangement. The segments automatically position themselves during automated feeding, eliminating the need for manual intervention near rotating components while maintaining positioning control.
Solution Approach 2:
An automated feeding device acts as an intermediary between the operator and the rotating winding components. This device handles segment positioning and feeding mechanically, keeping the operator at a safe distance while ensuring precise segment placement.
3Manufacturing precision
If segments are wound one by one manually, then precise alignment can be achieved, but the manufacturing process becomes time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple fabric segments with different yarn orientations are stacked and combined into a single multilayer structure before winding. This merging allows multiple segments to be fed and positioned simultaneously by an automated system, achieving precise alignment while dramatically reducing the time required compared to loading segments one by one.
4Ease of manufacture
If fabric strips with fibers oriented at 0° or 90° to longitudinal direction are used, then the structure is simple, but deformation capability for frustoconical winding is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
Different layers of the fabric stack have different yarn orientations (0°, 45°, 90°) tailored to specific deformation requirements. The 45° oriented layers provide deformation capability for frustoconical shapes, while 0° and 90° layers maintain structural simplicity and strength, allowing the composite structure to adapt to complex geometries.
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 enables faster, more repeatable, and safer manufacturing of composite parts with improved mechanical strength and dimensional accuracy by allowing continuous winding on complex shapes, such as frustoconical surfaces, while reducing operator exposure to hazards.
Implementation Method 1
The device generally includes a heating zone for the segments to allow them to deform and adhere to one another
Implementation Method 2
compacting the stack of the heated first and second layers so as to make them adhere to each other
Implementation Method 3
cooling the resulting stack to obtain a coherent multilayer strip
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a multilayer strip (1) for use in manufacturing a part from composite material, the multilayer strip comprising a plurality of segments (11, 21) of two-dimensional resin-impregnated fabric strip, each segment comprising two plurality of yarns (13, 14) extending perpendicularly to each other, the yarns of each plurality of yarns extending in a direction making a non-zero angle with a longitudinal direction (L) of each segment. The multilayer strip is formed by a stacking of at least a first (10) and a second (20) layer, each layer comprising a plurality of consecutive segments (11, 21) whose transverse edges (12, 22) are adjacent to each other, each segment of a layer overlapping at least two adjacent transverse edges of two consecutive segments of the other layer.The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing such a strip and a method for manufacturing a part made of composite material using it.