Parallel Gripper System for Automated Fiber Preform Draping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing complex, high-quality fiber preforms are labor-intensive, slow, and costly, particularly for three-dimensional structures, as they require manual handling and complex robotic control, limiting production efficiency and material usage.
Innovation Solution
A device with multiple grippers that can move independently and apply yarns or rovings with different fiber directions, allowing for parallel processing and direct draping over shaping tools, reducing material waste and enabling faster production of complex shapes with lower material costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual handling and complex robotic control are used to produce complex fiber preforms, then high-quality three-dimensional structures can be achieved, but production speed decreases and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device divides the fiber preform production process into multiple independent grippers (at least three grippers) that can operate simultaneously and independently. Each gripper handles specific yarn bundles and performs tensioning, draping, and fixing operations in parallel, transforming a previously sequential manual/robotic process into a parallel automated system that maintains precision while increasing productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The grippers are designed to move dynamically along defined paths between pick-up positions and maximum positions, allowing flexible adaptation to complex three-dimensional forming tool geometries. This dynamic positioning capability enables automated precise placement of fibers according to predetermined patterns while maintaining high production speed through coordinated motion control
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional fiber preform production methods are used, then complex shapes can be produced, but material waste increases and production costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The device performs preliminary tensioning of yarn bundles by the grippers before draping over the forming tool. This pre-tensioning ensures precise fiber placement and eliminates the need for excessive material to compensate for positioning errors or settling during the process, thereby reducing material waste while maintaining the ability to produce complex shapes
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces manual handling and traditional robotic control systems with a specialized automated gripper mechanism that directly manipulates yarn bundles. This mechanical substitution provides more precise control over fiber placement and tensioning, reducing material waste through optimized fiber utilization while maintaining versatility for complex geometries
3Productivity
If automated fiber laying with multiple heads is used, then production speed can be increased, but device complexity and control system complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Each gripper in the device is designed as a multi-functional unit that can perform multiple operations: gripping yarn bundles, tensioning them along defined paths, draping over forming tools, and fixing them in position. This universal design allows multiple grippers to work in parallel with standardized control logic, increasing production speed while avoiding the complexity of coordinating multiple specialized fiber laying heads with different control requirements
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
Device for producing fiber preforms (28, 28.1), which in particular represent a preliminary stage in the production of fiber-reinforced plastic components, wherein the device has several unwinding stations (1, 1.1, 2, 2.1) for providing several yarns or rovings and several grippers (5, 5.1) which can each grip one or more yarns or rovings at their beginning (20, 20'), wherein each gripper (5, 5.1) is movable back and forth on a path between a maximum position (8, 8.1) and a pick-up position (9, 9.1), and wherein the pick-up position (9, 9.1) is provided at a yarn transfer point (14, 14.1) and is closer to the unwinding station (1, 1.1, 2, 2.1) than the maximum position (8, 8.1), wherein each gripper (5, 5.1) has its own maximum position (9, 9.1) has and is assigned to its own yarn transfer point (14, 14.1), with the grippers (5, 5.1) are each individually movable on paths that are substantially parallel to each other, and wherein a forming tool (15, 15', 15.1, 16, 16') can be rotated in the device so that a further layer (26.1, 27.1) of yarns or rovings can be applied to a first draped, preferably also fixed, layer (25, 25.1) of yarns or rovings with a different fiber direction, preferably rotated by about 30°, 45°, 60° or 90°.