GB2147561A

GB2147561A - Filament winding

Info

Publication number: GB2147561A
Application number: GB08425801A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dennis Herbert Bowen
Original assignee: UK Atomic Energy Authority
Current assignee: UK Atomic Energy Authority
Priority date: 1983-10-21
Filing date: 1984-10-12
Publication date: 1985-05-15
Also published as: GB8425801D0; GB8328211D0; FR2553708A1; GB2147561B

Abstract

A filament winding apparatus 40 comprises a support 10 for a mandrel 42 and a support 10a for a filament placement device 44. The mandrel 42 is provided with at least two axes of rotational motion and one axis of translational motion, and the filament placement device 44 is provided with at least two axes of translational motion. The supports 10 and 10a may be robot arms controlled by a common computer 54, each robot arm providing two axes of translational motion and two axes of rotational motion. The filament winding apparatus 40 enables relatively complex shapes, e.g. a pipe tee-piece, to be wound. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Filament winding This invention relates to apparatus for filament winding for use in the manufacture of fibre reinforced plastics artefacts, and more particularly but not exclusively, for the manufacture of artefacts of relatively complex shape.

In known filament winding apparatus, a filament placement device moves with respect to a mandrel onto which filaments are wound by the filament placement device. The mandrel is supported in the apparatus so as to be rotatable about its own longitudinal axis. In some known filament winding apparatus, and known as tumble type winding apparatus, the mandrel support is in addition rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the mandrel. The filament placement device generally has one axis of translational motion, being movable parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mandrel, and may also be rotatable around the mandrel. Such filament winding machines can readily be used in making artefacts of approximately spherical or cylindrical shapes, but not for making artefacts of more complex shapes, such as a pipe T-coupling.

According to the present invention, in a filament winding apparatus comprising, a support for a mandrel and a filament placement device, the mandrel support is provided with at least two axes of rotational motion and at least one axis of translational motion. Desirably, the filament placement device is provided with at least two axes of translational motion, and the two axes of rotational motion of the mandrel support are mutually perpendicular.

as also are the two axes of translational motion of the filament placement device. Preferably, the mandrel support is a robot arm that provides the mandrel support with two axes of rotational motion and two axes of translational motion, and the filament placement device is supported by another robot arm, the robot arms being controlled by a common control means such as a computer.

A filament winding apparatus of the invention may be controlled so as to wind fibres onto the mandrel of a complex shape such as a T-shaped pipe coupling.

Robot arms are commercially available in a wide variety of designs and with a variety of combinations of rotational and translational axes, the selection of a robot arm being made on the particular duty to be performed.

The invention will now be further described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:~ Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic perspective view of a robot arm; and Figure 2a and 2b show diagrammatic plan views of a filament winding machine incorporating two robot arms of Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, a robot arm 10 comprises a base 12 supporting a vertically oriented telescopic arm member 14 whose lower end is movable in the horizontal plane along a guide slot 16 defined in the base 12. The upper end of the arm member 14 supports a horizontally oriented forearm member 20 rotatable about the longitudinal axis 22 of the arm member 14 and also rotatable about its own longitudinal axis 24. To the end of the forearm member 20 remote from the arm member 14 is pivotally connected a wrist member 28 pivotable with respect to the axis 24 of the forearm member 20. The wrist member 28 carries an end fitting 30 to which may be attached tools or jaws (not shown).

The end fitting 30 is thus provided with two axes of translational motion, i.e. horizontal translational motion X due to movement of the arm member 14 along the guide slot 16, and vertical translational motion Z due to telescopic operation of the arm member 14.

The end fitting 30 is also provided with three axes of rotational motion, i.e. rotation P of the forearm member 20 about the vertical axis 22, rotation Q of the forearm member 20 about its own longitudinal axis 24, and pivotal motion R of the wrist member 28 with respect to the forearm member 20.

Referring to Fig. 2a, a filament winding machine 40 includes two identical robot arms 10 and 10a, whose axes of horizontal translational motion X are in perpendicuar directions, the component parts of the robot arm 1 0a being distinguished from those of the robot arm 10 by the symbol a. To the end-fitting 30 of the robot arm 10 is mounted a mandrel 42, while to the end-fitting 30a of the robot arm 1 0a is mounted a filament placement device 44 with an eye 52 through which a fibre 50 is dispensed. The mandrel 42 is Tshaped, having a cross piece 46 of the T and a stem 48 of the T of the same circular crosssection, and is of foamed polystryrene moulded around a steel two-part T-piece spine (not shown), similar to those described for example in our British patent application number 2 125001A.The mandrel 42 is mounted to the end-fitting 30 at one end of the crosspiece 46 of the T, the cross-piece 46 being coaxial with the wrist member 28.

In use of the filament winding machine 40 to produce a fibre-reinforced plastics pipework T-coupling, the two robot arms 10 and 1 0a are controlled by a common computer 54.

The robot arm 1 0a first holds the eye 52 of the filament placement device 44 stationary adjacent placement device 44 is fixed to one side of the cross-piece 46 by an operator of the machine 40, the forearm member 20 of the robot arm 10 being aligned with the wrist member 28 and so with the longitudinal axis of the cross-piece 46 of the mandrel 42, and being held parallel to the guide slot 16. The forearm member 20 then undergoes rotation Q about its longitudinal axis 24 (see Fig. 1), so winding the fibre 50 around the crosspiece 46. and simultaneously the arm member 14 moves to and fro (X) in the guide slot 16, so as to produce a double helically wound layer of fibres 50 around one side of the cross-piece 46.Rotation Q of the forearm member 20 then stops and the robot arm 10 translates the mandrel 42 horizontally (X) until the eye 52 is adjacent to the other side of the cross-piece 46. Rotation Q then recommences and the mandrel 42 is again moved to and fro (X), so winding a double helically wound layer of fibres 50 around the other side of the cross-piece 46. Rotation Cut then stops.

Referring now to Fig. 2b, from which the computer 54 is omitted for clarity, the forearm member 20 then rotates P through 90t about the axis 22 of the arm member 14 and rotates Q through whatever angle is needed to bring the stem 48 of the mandrel 42 into a horizontal plane pointing towards the robot arm 1 Oa, and the robot arm 10 translates the mandrel 42 horizontally (X) towards the robot arm 1 Oa to bring the mandrel 42 within reach of the eye 52 of the filament placement device 44. The forearm portion 20a of the robot arm 1 0a rotates P about the axis 22a of the arm member 14a, so as to align the forearm portion 20a into a direction perpendicular to the guide slot 16a, and the arm member 1 4a undergoes translational motion X to bring the eye 52 adjacent to the stem 48 of the mandrel 42, as shown.

The robot arm 10a then moves the eye 52 in a circular path around the step 48 of the mandrel 42, by simultaneous coordinated translations in the X and Z directions, as the robot arm 10 moves the mandrel 42 away from and then towards the robot arm 1 Oa, so winding a double helically wound layer of fibres 50 around the stem 48 of the mandrel 42, the forearm member 20a making one rotation Q for every circular path followed by the eye 52, so that the eye 52 always faces the stem 48.

A region between the over-wound portions of the cross-piece 46 and the stem 48 of the mandrel 42 will, at this stage, not be covered with a layer of fibres 50 but it will be understood that a layer of fibres 50 can be wound over the uncovered region of the mandrel 42 by a similar though more complex sequence of coordinated operations carried out by the robot arms 10 and 10a, making use of pivotal motion R of the wrist member 28 where necessary.

To complete the production of the T-coupling, the layers of fibres 50 are impregnated with resin (unless the fibres 50 were impreg nated with resin before the winding operation) and the resin finally cured. The mandrel 42 may then be removed from within the Tcoupling by comminution of the polystryrene, the steel T-piece spine being disassembled and removed. to leave the hollow fibre-reinforced plastics T-coupling.

It will be appreciated that the filament winding machine 40 may be used in the production of a wide variety of different shaped fibre-reinforced plastics artefacts by the use of appropriately shaped mandrels. It will also be appreciated that throughout the above-described sequence of operations the wrist members 28 and 28a remained colinear with the respective forearm members 20 and 20a, and that consequently for the less complex shapes. an alternative robot arm might be used. differing from that of Fig. 1 in having the end fitting 30 connected directly to the end of the forearm member 20.

Claims

1. A filament winding apparatus comprising, a support for a mandrel, and a filament placement device. wherein the mandrel support is provided with at least two axes of rotational motion and at least one axis of translational motion.

2. An apparatus as claimed In Claim 1 wherein the filament placement device is provided with at least two axes of translational motion.

3. A filament winding apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the second robot arm provides two mutually perpendicular axes of translational motion.

3. An apparatus as claimed In Claim 2 wherein the two axes of rotational motion of the mandrel support are mutually perpendicular. and wherein the two axes of translational motion of the filament placement device are mutually perpendicular.

4. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the mandrel support is a first robot arm that provides the mandrel support with two axes of rotational motion and two axes of translational motion.

the filament placement device is supported by a second robot arm, and the apparatus includes a control means for controlling the motions of the first and the second robot arm.

5. A filament winding apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.

CLAIMS Amendments to the claims have been filed.

and have the following effect:~ Claims 1 to 4 above have been deleted or textually amended.

New or textually amended claims have been filed as follows: Claims 5 above have been re-numbered as 4 and their appendancies corrected.

1. A filament winding apparatus compris rn!l.;l support for a mandrel. and a filament placement device, wherein the mandrel support comprises a first robot arm providing the mandrel support with at least four independent motions, the filament placement device is supported by a second robot arm prt'vi'lII#L,# the filament pl.1( elnel1t device with ;t lays1 four independent motions, and the apparatus includes a control means for controlling the motions of the first and the second robot arm.

2. A filament winding apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein each robot arm provides at least two axes of rotational motion and at least one axis of translational motion.