Wetout Box Apparatus with Snaking Path for Uniform Resin Saturation
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing wetout process for fiber composite constructions, particularly in pultrusion, faces challenges in achieving uniform resin saturation between individual fibers of woven or stitched fiberglass materials, often requiring the use of breaker bars and lengthy trial-and-error setups.
Innovation Solution
A wetout box apparatus is introduced, comprising a breaker container with insert members and breaker bars that form a snaking path for the mat, allowing for improved resin penetration between fibers and reducing setup time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If breaker bars are used to bend fiber bundles and create openings for resin penetration, then resin saturation uniformity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The breaker bars are segmented into multiple individual bars arranged in arrays, allowing each bar to independently bend fiber bundles at different locations. This segmentation enables uniform resin penetration throughout the mat while keeping each individual breaker bar simple in structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The breaker bars act as intermediary elements between the resin bath and the fiber mat. These intermediate breaker bars create the necessary openings and gaps in the fiber bundles, facilitating resin penetration without requiring complex direct manipulation of the fiber structure.
2Manufacturing precision
If trial-and-error setup with production pultruder is used to achieve proper wetout, then resin saturation is improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The breaker bar arrays are pre-configured and pre-assembled into the wetout box apparatus before production begins. This preliminary setup establishes the optimal breaker bar positions and configurations in advance, eliminating the need for time-consuming trial-and-error adjustments during production setup.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a simplified wetout box apparatus that replicates the essential wetout function without requiring the full production pultruder system. By copying only the critical wetout components in a controlled environment, proper resin saturation can be achieved and validated quickly before full production runs.
3Manufacturing precision
If frequent starting and stopping of production pultruder is done for testing, then wetout configuration is optimized, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The wetout testing function is extracted from the production pultruder system and performed separately in a dedicated wetout box apparatus. This extraction allows wetout configuration optimization to occur independently without interrupting the continuous operation of the production pultruder, thereby maintaining productivity while achieving optimal wetout settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The wetout configuration is preliminarily optimized using the separate wetout box apparatus before full production runs begin. By completing all necessary wetout adjustments and validations in advance using sample materials in the wetout box, the production pultruder can then operate continuously without frequent interruptions for testing, thus maintaining high productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A wetout box apparatus is comprised of a breaker container, a first insert member, a second insert member, and a plurality of breaker bars. The breaker container is to store a volume of resin therein, the breaker container including a first slot and a second slot that allow a mat to enter and exit the breaker container, respectively. The first insert member is to be disposed within the breaker container on a first side of the breaker container. The second insert member is to be disposed within the breaker container on a second side of the breaker container. The plurality of breaker bars are coupled to the first and second insert members, the plurality of breaker bars forming a snaking path for the mat between the first slot and the second slot.