Robotic Tube Fabrication with Inflatable Mandrel and UV Curing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tube fabrication methods lack efficiency in creating load-bearing, curved, and interconnected tubular structures with controlled curvature and high precision, particularly in large-scale outdoor environments.
Innovation Solution
A robot system that winds resin-coated fiber around a cylindrical mandrel using UV-curable resin and inflatable mandrels, allowing for continuous fabrication, curvature control, and interweaving of tubes through coordinated robotic motion and UV curing, facilitated by a modified Reynold's flocking algorithm for collision avoidance and trajectory planning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional tube fabrication methods are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but manufacturing precision and ability to create controlled curvature structures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical tube fabrication equipment with a robotic system that uses UV-curable resin and automated fiber winding. The robot manipulates resin-coated fiber and uses UV LEDs to cure the resin, enabling precise curvature control and complex tubular structures that cannot be achieved with conventional mechanical methods
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material state from traditional rigid tube materials to UV-curable resin that transitions from liquid to solid state. This parameter change allows the robot to deposit and immediately cure the material, achieving high precision curvature control and complex interwoven patterns while maintaining fabrication flexibility
2Productivity
If rapid construction of large tubular structures is achieved, then productivity increases, but manufacturing precision and structural integrity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous fabrication by having the robot deposit resin-coated fiber and immediately cure it with UV LEDs in a continuous process. This eliminates downtime between material deposition and structural formation, enabling rapid construction of large tubular structures while maintaining high precision through automated control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses UV-curable resin as an intermediary material that allows the robot to rapidly build structures. The resin provides immediate structural integrity upon curing, enabling fast construction without sacrificing precision, as the cured resin maintains exact geometric placement
3Adaptability or versatility
If curved and interwoven tubular structures are created, then adaptability and structural versatility improve, but device complexity and fabrication difficulty worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an inflatable mandrel that can dynamically change its shape and curvature during fabrication. The mandrel can be inflated to different configurations to guide the robot in creating various curved and interwoven tube patterns, providing adaptability without requiring complex fixed tooling for each configuration
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system performs multiple functions: depositing resin-coated fiber, curing with UV LEDs, and navigating complex paths around inflatable mandrels. This universal robot handles diverse structural configurations through software control and adaptive motion planning, avoiding the need for specialized equipment for each tube type
4Strength
If UV curing is used to harden resin segments, then manufacturing precision and material strength improve, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional thermal curing methods with UV light curing. UV curing provides rapid strength development and precise control of material properties without the high energy consumption associated with heating large volumes of material, as UV LEDs can be positioned close to the deposition site for efficient energy transfer
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 the rapid construction of large, load-bearing, curved tubular structures with controlled curvature and interwoven patterns, supporting its own weight and additional loads, while maintaining precision and scalability without significant increases in design complexity or fabrication time.
Implementation Method 1
The resin may be cured by exposure to UV (ultraviolet) light. The robot may include UV LEDs (light-emitting diodes) to facilitate the UV curing of the resin.
Implementation Method 2
The robot may include an inflatable mandrel. When inflated, the mandrel may comprise a cylindrical form around which the resin-coated fiber is wound.
Implementation Method 3
The mandrel may be translucent, and thus may allow UV light from the UV LEDs to pass through the mandrel and cure the UV-curable resin.
Data Source
AI summary
A team of robots may fabricate a tubular structure. Each robot may fabricate a tube by winding resin-covered fiber around an inflated, cylindrical mandrel of the robot. The resin may cure, resulting in a hardened tube segment The robot may extend the tube by fabricating additional segments of the tube, one segment at a time. After a first segment cures, the mandrel may deflate, then the robot may move up inside the tube, then the mandrel may inflate, and the robot may begin fabricating another tube segment. After completing a tube segment, the robot may tilt relative to that segment, before starting the next segment. By doing so, the robot may cause the tube to be curved. A computer may guide the team of robots during fabrication of the tubes, by executing a flocking algorithm. The algorithm may prevent collisions with already fabricated tube segments.