Continuous Woven Composite Fabrication with Dynamic Warp Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for manufacturing high-performance composite materials, such as laminates and 3D preforms, face challenges including high costs, errors due to manual layup, limited in-plane properties, poor delamination resistance, and defects like air bubbles and kinked fibers, especially in additive manufacturing which results in weaker composites with reduced strength and toughness.
Innovation Solution
A method for continuously forming woven composite materials with controllable internal geometry using a machine that suspends warp filaments between a roller assembly and a warp rack, where warp heads can adjust vertically to interlace weft filaments, consolidating the composite through heat and pressure to create a cohesive bond, allowing for customizable weave patterns and overmolding to produce finished components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If manual layup is used for laminate manufacturing, then flexibility in assembly is maintained, but manufacturing cost increases and error likelihood increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses automated robotic arms to perform the layup process without manual intervention. The robots automatically pick up preimpregnated fabric layers and place them on the mold, eliminating the need for manual labor while maintaining process flexibility through programmable control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations with automated robotic systems. Computer-controlled robotic arms execute precise movements for fabric placement, substituting human operators with automated machinery that reduces errors and improves efficiency.
2Ease of manufacture
If layerwise laminate construction is used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but out-of-plane properties deteriorate to as low as 10% of in-plane properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite construction by combining multiple fabric layers with matrix resin in a woven configuration. The interlacing of warp and weft filaments creates a three-dimensional structure that provides both in-plane and out-of-plane strength, overcoming the weakness of traditional laminates.
Solution Approach 2:
The system nests multiple fabric layers within each other, with each layer interlaced through weaving. The warp and weft filaments are woven together in a nested pattern, creating a multi-layered composite structure that enhances out-of-plane properties while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
3Strength
If 3D preforms are used to improve out-of-plane properties, then out-of-plane strength increases, but manufacturing complexity increases and defects like air bubbles and kinked fibers are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous weaving and consolidation processes without interruption. The robotic system continuously lays up fabric layers while the consolidation process continuously applies heat and pressure, eliminating breaks that could introduce defects like air bubbles and kinked fibers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a matrix resin as an intermediary material that binds the fabric layers together during consolidation. The resin fills gaps and protects fibers from damage, preventing defects while maintaining the three-dimensional woven structure that provides out-of-plane strength.
4Adaptability or versatility
If additive manufacturing is used for composite formation, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but composite strength and toughness are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses traditional composite materials consisting of continuous fibers embedded in a matrix resin. This approach maintains the high strength and toughness characteristics of conventional composites while achieving manufacturing flexibility through automated robotic layup and customizable weave patterns.
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 the production of strong, stiff, and tough composite materials with customizable properties, reducing manufacturing costs and errors, while avoiding defects like air bubbles and kinked fibers, and allowing for efficient production of bulk quantities with controlled internal geometry.
Implementation Method 1
consolidating the woven composite material concurrently with the substrate material through the roller assembly to form a cohesive bond
Implementation Method 2
consolidating the woven composite material concurrently with the substrate material through the roller assembly to form a cohesive bond
Implementation Method 3
heating element positioned above the anvil and configured to melt the thermoplastic polymer matrix of the composite material
Data Source
AI summary
A machine and method are presented for continuously forming a woven composite with controllable internal fabric geometry. The machine may include one or more spools for dispensing one or more warp filaments, a roller assembly configured to receive a composite weave, a warp rack having warp heads for engaging the warp filaments and vertically adjusting position to dynamically create a weave pattern in response to the insertion of one or more weft filaments by a weft inserter stack.