Tow Prepreg Manufacturing via Adjustable Coating Rollers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for manufacturing tow prepreg, particularly using the hot melt process, face challenges in precisely controlling resin content, leading to issues like fiber damage, high production costs, and inefficiencies that hinder the mass production of high-performance composite materials for pressure vessels.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method involving adjustable coating rollers with a spreading roller to control the incident angle of fibers, allowing for precise resin impregnation and minimizing fiber damage, using a controller to optimize resin content and reduce thermal exposure, and a three-roller configuration to manage resin quantity effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the hot melt process is used to manufacture tow prepreg, then resin content can be controlled, but fiber damage occurs and production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of resin from solid to liquid by controlling temperature parameters during the coating process. By optimizing temperature and time parameters, the resin achieves proper fluidity for uniform coating without excessive thermal exposure that would damage fibers, thus resolving the contradiction between resin content control and fiber damage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical resin application methods with a coating roller system that uses capillary action and controlled friction to apply resin uniformly. This substitution reduces mechanical stress on fibers while achieving precise resin content control, addressing both manufacturing precision and fiber damage issues
2Manufacturing precision
If the hot melt process is used to manufacture tow prepreg, then resin content can be controlled, but production efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a continuous coating process where resin is continuously applied to fibers moving through the coating roller system. This continuous action eliminates batch processing interruptions, maintains optimal temperature conditions throughout, and achieves both precise resin content control and high production efficiency simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
By optimizing the temperature parameter to maintain resin in a controlled liquid state, the patent enables continuous coating operation without periodic heating cycles. This parameter optimization allows uninterrupted production while maintaining precise resin content control, resolving the efficiency contradiction
3Strength
If resin is applied with high viscosity, then adhesive property improves, but resin cannot be properly impregnated in fiber
Solution Approach 1:
The patent temporarily changes the viscosity parameter by controlling temperature during the coating process. The resin is applied in a controlled liquid state for uniform impregnation, then the temperature is reduced to maintain high viscosity and adhesive properties in the final product, thus resolving the contradiction between impregnation uniformity and adhesive strength
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the resin viscosity dynamic by controlling temperature variations during different process stages. During coating, temperature maintains lower viscosity for uniform application; during storage and handling, temperature reduces to increase viscosity and adhesive properties. This dynamic control resolves the contradiction between impregnation and adhesion requirements
4Ease of manufacture
If the solvent process is used to manufacture tow prepreg, then manufacturing simplicity improves, but resin content control precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the chemical solvent-based system with a physical coating roller system that uses capillary action and controlled friction. This substitution maintains process simplicity while enabling precise resin content control through mechanical means, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and manufacturing precision
Solution Approach 2:
The coating roller acts as an intermediary device that controls resin transfer from the resin source to the fiber. By controlling the roller parameters (speed, pressure, temperature), precise resin content is achieved without complex chemical processes, maintaining simplicity while improving precision
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
This approach enables precise control of resin content, reduces fiber damage, and enhances production efficiency, allowing for the manufacture of high-performance tow prepreg with lower resin content, improving product performance and storage life while maintaining cost competitiveness.
Implementation Method 1
a first roller and a second roller which rotate while having a gap between the first roller and the second roller, in which the fiber supplied from the spreading roller passes through the gap between the first roller and the second roller to be coated with a resin
Implementation Method 2
the fiber supplied from the spreading roller passes through the gap between the first roller and the second roller to be coated with a resin
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for manufacturing tow prepreg includes: a spreading roller which adjusts an incident angle of supplied fiber; and two or more coating rollers including a first roller and a second roller which rotate while having a gap between the first roller and the second roller, in which the fiber supplied from the spreading roller passes through the gap between the first roller and the second roller to be coated with resin. The incident angle of the fiber supplied for immersing the resin is adjusted to adjust tension applied to the fiber supplied to a coating roller, such that the quantity of the resin of the tow prepreg can be controlled more precisely.