GB2618910A - Fibre reinforced composite material - Google Patents

Fibre reinforced composite material Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2618910A
GB2618910A GB2305561.9A GB202305561A GB2618910A GB 2618910 A GB2618910 A GB 2618910A GB 202305561 A GB202305561 A GB 202305561A GB 2618910 A GB2618910 A GB 2618910A
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United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
fibre
resin
strands
reinforcing
film
Prior art date
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Application number
GB2305561.9A
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GB202305561D0 (en
Inventor
Moloney Liam
Moloney William
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Composite Tooling & Eng Solutions Ltd
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Composite Tooling & Eng Solutions Ltd
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Publication of GB202305561D0 publication Critical patent/GB202305561D0/en
Publication of GB2618910A publication Critical patent/GB2618910A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B15/00—Pretreatment of the material to be shaped, not covered by groups B29B7/00 - B29B13/00
    • B29B15/08—Pretreatment of the material to be shaped, not covered by groups B29B7/00 - B29B13/00 of reinforcements or fillers
    • B29B15/10—Coating or impregnating independently of the moulding or shaping step
    • B29B15/105—Coating or impregnating independently of the moulding or shaping step of reinforcement of definite length with a matrix in solid form, e.g. powder, fibre or sheet form
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B5/00—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts
    • B32B5/02—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts characterised by structural features of a fibrous or filamentary layer
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B15/00—Pretreatment of the material to be shaped, not covered by groups B29B7/00 - B29B13/00
    • B29B15/08—Pretreatment of the material to be shaped, not covered by groups B29B7/00 - B29B13/00 of reinforcements or fillers
    • B29B15/10—Coating or impregnating independently of the moulding or shaping step
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C70/00—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts
    • B29C70/04—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts comprising reinforcements only, e.g. self-reinforcing plastics
    • B29C70/06—Fibrous reinforcements only
    • B29C70/10—Fibrous reinforcements only characterised by the structure of fibrous reinforcements, e.g. hollow fibres
    • B29C70/12—Fibrous reinforcements only characterised by the structure of fibrous reinforcements, e.g. hollow fibres using fibres of short length, e.g. in the form of a mat
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C70/00—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts
    • B29C70/04—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts comprising reinforcements only, e.g. self-reinforcing plastics
    • B29C70/06—Fibrous reinforcements only
    • B29C70/10—Fibrous reinforcements only characterised by the structure of fibrous reinforcements, e.g. hollow fibres
    • B29C70/16—Fibrous reinforcements only characterised by the structure of fibrous reinforcements, e.g. hollow fibres using fibres of substantial or continuous length
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C70/00—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts
    • B29C70/04—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts comprising reinforcements only, e.g. self-reinforcing plastics
    • B29C70/28—Shaping operations therefor
    • B29C70/54—Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations, e.g. feeding or storage of prepregs or SMC after impregnation or during ageing
    • B29C70/545—Perforating, cutting or machining during or after moulding
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    • B32B27/28—Layered products comprising a layer of synthetic resin comprising synthetic resins not wholly covered by any one of the sub-groups B32B27/30 - B32B27/42
    • B32B27/281—Layered products comprising a layer of synthetic resin comprising synthetic resins not wholly covered by any one of the sub-groups B32B27/30 - B32B27/42 comprising polyimides
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    • B32B27/00—Layered products comprising a layer of synthetic resin
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    • B32B27/00—Layered products comprising a layer of synthetic resin
    • B32B27/36—Layered products comprising a layer of synthetic resin comprising polyesters
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B27/00—Layered products comprising a layer of synthetic resin
    • B32B27/42—Layered products comprising a layer of synthetic resin comprising condensation resins of aldehydes, e.g. with phenols, ureas or melamines
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B5/00—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts
    • B32B5/02—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts characterised by structural features of a fibrous or filamentary layer
    • B32B5/022—Non-woven fabric
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B5/00—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts
    • B32B5/02—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts characterised by structural features of a fibrous or filamentary layer
    • B32B5/08—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts characterised by structural features of a fibrous or filamentary layer the fibres or filaments of a layer being of different substances, e.g. conjugate fibres, mixture of different fibres
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C33/00—Moulds or cores; Details thereof or accessories therefor
    • B29C33/38—Moulds or cores; Details thereof or accessories therefor characterised by the material or the manufacturing process
    • B29C33/3842—Manufacturing moulds, e.g. shaping the mould surface by machining
    • B29C2033/385—Manufacturing moulds, e.g. shaping the mould surface by machining by laminating a plurality of layers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B2250/00—Layers arrangement
    • B32B2250/05—5 or more layers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B2250/00—Layers arrangement
    • B32B2250/42—Alternating layers, e.g. ABAB(C), AABBAABB(C)
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B2262/00—Composition or structural features of fibres which form a fibrous or filamentary layer or are present as additives
    • B32B2262/02—Synthetic macromolecular fibres
    • B32B2262/0261—Polyamide fibres
    • B32B2262/0269—Aromatic polyamide fibres
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B2262/00—Composition or structural features of fibres which form a fibrous or filamentary layer or are present as additives
    • B32B2262/06—Vegetal fibres
    • B32B2262/062—Cellulose fibres, e.g. cotton
    • B32B2262/065—Lignocellulosic fibres, e.g. jute, sisal, hemp, flax, bamboo
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B2262/00—Composition or structural features of fibres which form a fibrous or filamentary layer or are present as additives
    • B32B2262/10—Inorganic fibres
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B2262/00—Composition or structural features of fibres which form a fibrous or filamentary layer or are present as additives
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    • B32B2262/101—Glass fibres
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B2262/00—Composition or structural features of fibres which form a fibrous or filamentary layer or are present as additives
    • B32B2262/10—Inorganic fibres
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
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    • B32B2262/00—Composition or structural features of fibres which form a fibrous or filamentary layer or are present as additives
    • B32B2262/14—Mixture of at least two fibres made of different materials
    • B32B2262/144—Non-woven fabric
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    • B32B2307/00—Properties of the layers or laminate
    • B32B2307/50—Properties of the layers or laminate having particular mechanical properties
    • B32B2307/54—Yield strength; Tensile strength
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    • B32B2439/00—Containers; Receptacles

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Composite Materials (AREA)
  • Laminated Bodies (AREA)
  • Reinforced Plastic Materials (AREA)

Abstract

Depositing multiple reinforcing 0.1-0.3m strands on a resin film and sandwiching them between another resin film. There can be a second layer of fibre and a third film layer. The fibres ca be polyacrylonitrile based carbon, rayon, pitch, glass, aramid, ceramic, flax, or boron. The laminate can be 50-65% by volume. The fibre can be 100-3000g/m2. The fibres can be homogenous or heterogenous in length and composition. The film can be a thermosetting polymer such as polyester, viny ester, cyanate ester, bismaleimide, benzoxazine, polyamide, polyimide or phenolic. The film can be 50-1500/m2. The laminate can be passed through roller sets to consolidate and cure. The composite matrix can be placed over a forming tool to make a tool or moult tool. The fibres can be cut to length by a rotating blade. Multiple apertures through which reinforcing fibres can be fed at various speeds; blades which can be rotated at various speeds.

Description

FIBRE REINFORCED COMPOSITE MATERIAL
FIELD
This invention relates to a method for producing a fibre reinforced composite material comprising carbon fibre, the fibre reinforced composite material, and uses of the fibre reinforced composite material.
BACKGROUND
Fibre reinforced composites generally comprise reinforcing fibres in a curable resin matrix. The combined physical and chemical properties of the matrix resin and the reinforcing fibres in composite materials are generally such that when the combination is cured, the resultant composite articles are light weight with considerable strength and stiffness enabling these articles to find applications in many industries, including aerospace, automotive, marine and civil engineering. Suitable reinforcing fibres include for example carbon, glass, aramid, flax and ceramic.
A method of forming fibre reinforced composite materials involves the mixing of a matrix resin with discrete fibres, depositing the mixture onto a sheet, and placing on a tool or in a mould to cure and form composite articles. The fibres are well mixed and evenly dispersed within the resin to achieve a homogeneous mixture, so that the fibres can provide uniform strength throughout the resulting composite material. Typically, fibres are used which are in the range of 5-50mm long. However, a problem with the resulting reinforced composite materials is that they cannot be used to make articles which will undergo high stress or require high stiffness, such as mould tools, as the level of strength and stiffness achieved in the resulting cured composite is not sufficiently high.
Higher strength fibre reinforced composite materials can be made by using reinforcing fibre which has been woven into fabric. Long, continuous fibres are woven together to form the fabric, which provides greater strength and stiffness to the resulting composite compared to the use of discrete fibres discussed above. In this case, thermoset resins are generally introduced into a layer of reinforcing woven fibres to either fully impregnate or partially impregnate the layer.
Making the woven fabric is labour intensive and costly. Also, the resultant fabric does not distort readily and when using such a material the fabric must be cut and manipulated to fit around complex geometries of an article, which again is labour intensive and can be wasteful. Further, due to the laminar structure of these composites, tools, such as mould tools, made from these composite materials are susceptible to damage by impact which causes cracks to propagate between layers and a consequent loss of strength, stiffness and mould integrity.
There is a need for improved fibre reinforced composite materials, which overcome the problems in the art.
SUMMARY
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. The detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended to be given by way of example only.
In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a fibre reinforced composite material for use as a composite tooling material comprising the following steps: step 1: providing a lower film comprising resin; step 2: depositing a plurality of discrete reinforcing fibre strands onto the lower film to form a first fibre layer on the lower film; step 3: depositing an upper film comprising resin over the first fibre layer, so that the reinforcing fibre strands are sandwiched between the lower and upper films thereby forming a resin-fibre-resin stack; wherein the length of each reinforcing fibre strand is individually between about 100 and 300mm; and wherein the plurality of discrete reinforcing strands comprise carbon fibre strands.
The method may comprise the following additional steps: step 4: depositing a plurality of discrete reinforcing fibre strands onto the upper surface of the resin-fibre-resin stack to form a further fibre layer; step 5: depositing a further film comprising resin over the further fibre layer, so that the reinforcing fibre strands are sandwiched between the upper surface of the resin-fibre-resin stack and the further film, thereby extending the resin-fibre-resin stack; and optionally wherein steps 4 and 5 are repeated one or more times.
The reinforcing fibre strands may comprise a material having a tensile modulus of >20GPa, optionally >40GPa, and further optionally >70GPa. The reinforcing fibre strands may comprise a material having a tensile modulus of <1000GPa, optionally <500GPa, and further optionally >250GPa.
Optionally, the carbon fibre strands comprise polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon, rayon-based carbon, and/or pitch-based carbon. Further optionally, the carbon fibre strands comprise polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon.
The plurality of discrete reinforcing fibre strands may additionally comprise glass, aramid, ceramic, flax and/or boron. The plurality of discrete reinforcing fibre strands may additionally comprise glass, aramid, ceramic, flax and/or boron fibre strands.
Optionally, the plurality of discrete reinforcing fibre strands may comprise polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon and/or glass. Optionally, the plurality of discrete reinforcing fibre strands may comprise polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon and/or glass fibre strands..
The length of each discrete reinforcing fibre strand is individually between about 100 and 300mm, and optionally between about 110 and 290mm, 120 and 280mm, 130 and 270mm, 140 and 260mm, and 150 and 250mm. Optionally, the length of each reinforcing fibre strand is individually at least 100mm, 110mm, 120 mm, 130 mm, 140 mm, 150 mm, 160 mm, 170 mm, 180 mm, 190 mm, 200 mm, 210 mm, 220 mm, 230 mm, 240 mm, 250 mm, 260 mm, 270 mm, 280 mm, or 290 mm. Optionally, the length of each reinforcing fibre strand is individually no more than 300 mm, 290 mm, 280 mm, 270 mm, 260 mm, 250 mm, 240 mm, 230 mm, 220 mm, 210 mm, 200 mm, 190 mm, 180 mm, 170 mm, 160 mm, 150 mm, 140 mm, 130 mm, 120 mm, or 110 mm. These long fibre strands impart greater strength and stiffness to the resulting reinforced composite material than using short fibre strands, such as those known in the art in the range 5-50mm long. Further, as the fibre strands can readily distort, the composite can be easily manipulated to fit around complex geometries of an article, which advantageously reduces the need for material tailoring and cutting.
The diameter of each fibre strand will depend on the fibre material. In general, the diameter of the fibre strands varies from between 5pm and 25pm. For example, the diameter of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibre strands may be between 5pm and 10pm, and optionally between 5pm and 7pm. For example, the diameter of glass fibre strands may be between 5pm and 25pm, and optionally between 10pm and 15pm.
Each fibre layer may independently comprise reinforcing fibre strands of different lengths, or each fibre layer may independently comprise reinforcing fibre strands of substantially the same length. Further, each fibre layer may independently comprise reinforcing fibre strands of the same material, or each fibre layer may independently comprise reinforcing fibre strands of a different material.
As the fibre strands are deposited directly on to the resin film, reinforcing fibre strands of different lengths and of different material may be deposited onto the same resin film. Therefore, in any one repeated resin-fibre-resin stack, each fibre layer may be different in terms of the lengths of reinforcing fibre strands and the reinforcing fibre strand types.
Alternatively, two or more resin-fibre-resin stacks each comprising one fibre layer may be layered on top of one another, in which the fibre layer of each resin-fibre-resin stack may be different in terms of the lengths of reinforcing fibre strands and the reinforcing fibre strand types. This is advantageous as different ratios of fibre strand lengths and different ratios of fibre material types can be deposited to provide a fully mixed fibre product, such as a layered fibre type (for example, glass-carbon-glass fibre layers), or a layered fibre length product (for example, 100mm-200mm-300mm fibre layers), or any other combination of fibre arrangement which may be desired. In one fibre layer there may be fibre strands of substantially the same length, but with a mixture of fibre types. In the next fibre layer, there may be a mixture of fibre strands of different lengths, but all the fibre strands are the same material. In this way, the resulting composite may be advantageously adapted to provide a tailored coefficient of thermal expansion particular to the desired final product.
The discrete reinforcing fibre strands may be deposited in random orientations on the film.
The reinforcing fibre strands may be arranged in random directions in a fibre layer. In other words, the reinforcing fibre strands may be arranged in a haphazard, disordered and/or irregular manner in the fibre layer, so that the fibre strands do not create a pattern. Due to the random arrangement of the reinforcing fibre strands, any cracks in the resulting reinforced composite material as a result of impact can be prevented from propagating. This is a particular advantage when the reinforced composite material is used in the manufacture of tools.
The reinforcing fibre strands may be substantially evenly spread within a fibre layer. This enables the strength and stiffness imparted by the reinforcing fibre strands to be evenly spread across the resulting reinforced composite material.
The volume of the reinforcing fibre strands in the resin-fibre-resin stack may be between 35% and 80%, and optionally between 40% and 75%, 45% and 70%, 50% and 65%. Optionally, the volume of the reinforcing fibre strands in the resin-fibre-resin stack may be at least 40%, 45%, 50%, 65%, 70%, and 75%. Optionally, the volume of the reinforcing fibre strands in the resin-fibre-resin stack may be no more than 80%, 75%, 70%, 65%, 60%, 55%, 50%, 45%, and 40%. Advantageously, the volume of reinforcing fibre can be controlled simply by varying the quantity of reinforcing fibre strands added for a given mass of resin per unit area in a film. A relatively high volume of reinforcing fibre strands in the resin-fibre-resin stack can be achieved in the final composite product because the fibre strands are merely sandwiched between two resin films, rather than the fibre strands needing to be premixed into the resin. This relatively high volume of reinforcing fibre strands provides excellent strength and stiffness to the final composite product.
The mass of the reinforcing fibre strands per unit area in a fibre layer may be in the range of 100g/m2 to 3000g/m2, optionally in the range of 200g/m2 to 2000g/m2, and further optionally in the range of 500g/m2 to 1000g/m2. Optionally, the mass of the reinforcing fibre strands per unit area in a fibre layer may be at least 100g/m2, 200g/m2, 300g/m2, 400g/m2, 500g/m2, 600g/m2, 800g/m2, 1000g/m2, 1200g/m2, 1400g/m2, 1600g/m2, 1800g/m2, 2000g/m2, 2200 g/m2, 2400g/m2, 26009/m2, or 28009/m2. Optionally, the mass of the reinforcing fibre strands per unit area in a fibre layer may be no more than 3000g/m2, 28009/m2, 2600g/m2, 24009/m2, 22009/m2, 2000g/m2, 1800g/m2, 16009/m2, 1400g/m2, 1200g/m2, 1000 g/m2, 800g/m2, 600g/m2, 500g/m2, 400g/m2, 300g/m2, or 200 g/m2.
The resin may cure to form a thermosetting polymer. A thermosetting polymer, or thermoset, is the polymer formed by curing the soft solid or viscous liquid prepolymer resin. Curing may be induced by heat or suitable radiation and may be promoted by high pressure.
The resin may be any prepolymer resin which cures at a temperature between 0°C and 300°C to form the thermosetting polymer. For example, the thermosetting polymer may comprise one or more of epoxy, polyester, viny ester, cyanate ester, bismaleimide, benzoxazine, polyamide, polyimide and phenolic. Optionally, the thermosetting polymer may comprise epoxy. The lower film and the upper film may comprise the same resin. The further film may comprise the same resin as the lower film and/or upper film. The particular resin may be selected based on the desired characteristics of the final product.
The resin may be in the form of a film. The thickness of the resin film should be sufficient to cover the fibre layer and to reduce defects such as burrs and thickness deviation during moulding. In particular, the resin film may have a thickness in the range of 0.05mm to 2.0mm. Optionally, the resin film may have a thickness of at least 0.05mm, 0.1mm, 0.2mm, 0.4mm, 0.6mm, 0.8mm, 1.0mm, 1.2mm, 1.4mm, 1.6mm, and 1.8mm. Optionally, the resin film may have a thickness of no more than 2.0mm, 1.8mm, 1.6mm, 1.4mm, 1.2mm, 1.0mm, 0.8mm, 0.6mm, 0.4mm, 0.2mm, or 0.1mm.
The mass of resin per unit area in a film may be between 50g/m2 and 1500g/m2, optionally between 100g/m2 and 1000g/m2, and further optionally between 150g/m2 and 600g/m2. Optionally, the mass of resin per unit area in a film may be at least 50g/m2, 100g/m2, 150g/m2, 200g/m2, 250g/m2, 300g/m2, 400g/m2, 500g/m2, 600g/m2, 800g/m2, 1000g/m2, 1200g/m2, or 1400g/m2. Optionally, the mass of resin per unit area in a film may be no more than 1500g/m2, 1400g/m2, 1200g/m2, 1000g/m2, 800g/m2, 600g/m2, 500g/m2, 400g/m2, 3009/m2, 250g/m2, 2009/m2, 150g/m2, or 100g/m2.
A single resin film may comprise one or more discrete resin layers. For example, a resin film may be deposited on the fibre layer and a further resin film may be deposited on top of the resin film in a similar manner. The resin layers may comprise the same material, or different materials. Optionally, the resin layers comprise the same resin material. The combination of different layered resin films allows tailoring of coefficient of thermal expansion of the final product.
Additionally, a surface veil or other non-woven fibre reinforcement may be incorporated within a resin film. A surface veil or other non-woven fibre reinforcement may be incorporated at the surface of the composite above a fibre layer, in order to visually mask the underlying fibre layer or to provide an improved aesthetic appearance.
The reinforcing fibre strands may be sandwiched between a lower resin film and an upper resin film thereby forming a resin-fibre-resin stack comprising one fibre layer. The resinfibre-resin stack may be extended by depositing reinforcing fibre strands onto the upper surface of the resin-fibre-resin stack to form a further fibre layer, and depositing a further resin film over the further fibre layer, so that the reinforcing fibre strands are sandwiched between the upper surface of the resin-fibre-resin stack and the further resin film. In this way, the resin-fibre-resin stack is extended and comprises two fibre layers. Further fibre layers may be added to the resin-fibre-resin stack in a similar way. Therefore, the resinfibre-resin stack may comprise one fibre layer, or be extended to comprise more than one fibre layer up to for example six fibre layers. Extending the resin-fibre-resin stack increases the thickness of the resin-fibre-resin stack, which can be used to increase the mass per unit area of the product or improve resin impregnation within the fibres dependent on the viscosity of the resin used.
The mass of resin per unit area in a film, together with the number of resin films in the resin-fibre-resin stack, can be tailored to accommodate the volume of the reinforcing fibre strands and the particular fibre strand material in the resin-fibre-resin stack. In this way, optimal impregnation of the fibres with the resin can be achieved.
The resin-fibre-resin stack may be passed through one or more sets of rollers to partially cure the resin and to form a consolidated resin-fibre matrix. The resin-fibre-resin stack is compressed as it passes through the rollers. A resin-fibre-resin stack comprising one fibre layer, or more than one fibre layer up to for example six fibre layers may be partially cured in this way to form a consolidated resin-fibre matrix.
This consolidated resin-fibre matrix may also be described as a tooling sheet material, or a prepreg'.
The consolidated resin-fibre matrix may be rolled up or cut into discrete pieces, or tiles, and appropriately stored (to prevent further curing, for example by storing at low temperature) until needed.
The lower resin film may be supported on a substrate such as polyester film, waxed paper, or similar product. The upper surface of the resin-fibre-stack may also be covered by a similar substrate. The substrate protects the resin-fibre-resin stack from becoming attached to itself or the next resin-fibre-resin stack during storage.
The consolidated resin-fibre matrix may be fully cured to form the reinforced composite material, for example in the form of an object such as a tool or a mould tool. Curing may be induced by heat or suitable radiation and may be promoted by high pressure.
The consolidation process may be tailored and optimised depending on the resin material, the size of the resin-fibre-resin stack, and the mass of the fibre strands per unit area in the fibre layers.
The consolidated resin-fibre matrix may be placed into or over a forming tool and cured in order to make an object. The forming tool may be a pattern or a mould. For example, the object may be a tool or a mould tool. Several tiles of consolidated resin-fibre matrix may be layered on top of one another and cured in order to form the object, in particular such as when the consolidated resin-fibre matrix is formed from a resin-fibre-resin stack comprising one fibre layer. For example, if seven tiles of consolidated resin-fibre matrix are layered on top of one another and cured, in which each tile of consolidated resin-fibre matrix is formed from a resin-fibre-resin stack comprising one fibre layer, the resulting reinforced composite material may be referred to as a 7-ply laminate.
The files of consolidated resin-fibre matrix may be layered over one another to build up the volume required for a particular object. The thickness of each resin-fibre-resin stack may be kept to a minimum so that there is excellent overlap between the resulting tiles of consolidated resin-fibre matrix. In contrast, tiles of woven fabric impregnated with resin, as is known in the art, are much thicker and heavier than those of the consolidated resin-fibre matrix and so the edges of each file may need to be chamfered to join one file with another, which is labour intensive.
The making of a composite mould tool involves a process of layering by hand (laminating) multiple layers of a material over a former, or master model or pattern, and then curing at elevated temperature with or without elevated pressure to make a hard, stiff mould tool.
The layers of the consolidated resin-fibre matrix of the present invention comprises discrete length carbon reinforcing fibres, which may be randomly distributed in the fibre layer. Use of the layers of consolidated resin-fibre matrix of the present invention, compared to for example those comprising woven materials, provides for faster laminating of both simple and complex geometries due to their excellent drapeability, flexibility and formability during laminating of the moulds tools, and the lack of requirement to be directionally orientated, which is present using woven materials, provides a high degree of cured mould strength and stiffness in the final product manufactured from this material.
It is known in the art to cut short carbon fibres in the range 5-50mm long by feeding carbon fibre between two rollers, in which one roller comprises bladed teeth (see Figure 5). In order to change the cut fibre strand length; the distance between the teeth on the cutting wheel (the right-hand wheel in Figure 5) must be increased or decreased. Therefore, significant modification of the apparatus is required to enable the cutting of different fibre lengths, which is labour intensive and requires additional components.
Further, if carbon fibres longer than 100mm are required, the apparatus using two rollers such as that in Figure 5 is not suitable. The longer carbon fibres tend to wrap around the rollers and become caught, therefore leading to lost time and labour to correct the problem In a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for cutting lengths of reinforcing fibre strand to the desired length for use in the method according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus comprises: one or more apertures; a means for feeding lengths of reinforcing fibre strand through the one or more apertures, and means for varying the speed at which the lengths of reinforcing fibre strand are fed through the one or more apertures; one or more rotating bladed arms, wherein the rotating bladed arms rotate in a plane and the direction of movement of the bladed arms within the plane is the shear direction; means for varying the speed of the rotating bladed arms; and wherein, in use, as the lengths of reinforcing fibre strand pass through the one or more apertures the one or more rotating bladed arms shear the lengths of reinforcing fibre strand to the desired length.
In particular, the fibre strands may be cut to length by one or more rotating bladed arms prior to depositing according to steps 2 and 4 of the first aspect of the invention.
Therefore, the present invention uses an improved method to that known in the art and as shown in Figure 5, in order to produce carbon fibres >100mm. By using a shearing mechanism, the apparatus of the present invention can cut longer carbon fibre strands of >100mm.
Means for feeding lengths of reinforcing fibre strand through the one or more apertures may include the use of two or more rollers (10 and 15), which rotate and draw the fibre strands into the apparatus. The lengths of reinforcing fibre strand may be introduced at any angle into the apparatus. Multiple small rollers may be used. The lengths of reinforcing fibre strand may be drawn vertically downwards into the apparatus with the bladed arms (30) rotating in a horizontal plane, or drawn horizontally into the apparatus with the bladed arms (30) rotating in a vertical plane, or any other desired angle.
The speed of the rotating bladed arms may be varied to produce different fibre lengths.
Also, the speed of the fibre feed may be varied to produce different fibre lengths.
An advantage of the present invention is that the fibre throughput speed and the rotational speed of the bladed arms may be simply changed (by varying the speed of the motor(s)) and are fully independent. This enables the cut fibre length to be altered during operation of the apparatus, rather than having to stop and modify the apparatus. Additionally, by using a varying or cyclic speed for the rotating bladed arms and/or for the fibre throughput feed, a range of fibre lengths may be produced over a given time period.
A set of rotating bladed arms and the associated fibre feeds may be described as a 'cutting head'. The apparatus may comprise a single cutting head or multiple cutting heads, to deposit similar or different fibre strand lengths in a desired pattern. Therefore, the fibre volume within a fibre layer may be tailored according to the specification of the final article.
By having an array of cutting heads and fibre feeds, it is possible to achieve fibre deposition over a large area and the deposition of fibres of different lengths to give a layered structure to the fibre deposition. Multiple cutting heads can be combined in different arrangements to generate different fibre lengths and different fibre types concurrently.
In an embodiment of the invention, the long fibre strand lengths (5) may be fed into the apparatus through two rollers (10 and 15), which may be positioned between an upper plate (20) and lower plate (25) (see Figure 6). The rotating bladed arms (30) rotate on a shaft (35). The upper surface of an anvil (40) is fixed to the under surface of the lower plate (30) and the rotating bladed arms rotate in intimate contact against the lower surface of the anvil (40). The fibres are pushed through apertures (which may be holes or slots) in the upper and lower plates (45 and 50) and apertures in the anvil (55) and every rotation of the bladed arms results in one or more fibre shearing operations.
The angle between the shear direction of the one or more rotating bladed arms and the direction of feed of the lengths of reinforcing fibre strand may be substantially perpendicular. Alternatively, the angle between the shear direction of the one or more rotating bladed arms and the direction of feed of the lengths of reinforcing fibre strand may be acute, or obtuse. For example, the acute angle may be between 45° and 90°, and the obtuse angle may be between 90° and 105°.
The rotating bladed arms may have a blade on one edge of the arm or on both edges of the arm. This allows for shearing in both rotational directions. The rotating bladed arms can be placed vertically, horizontally or at any angle. Alternatively, an oscillating bladed arm may be used. Alternatively, the lengths of reinforcing fibre strand may be cut using a series of lasers, or by any suitable means.
The discrete fibre strands may be deposited onto the resin surface by any suitable means which allows the fibre strands to be substantially evenly spread over the surface of the resin film, such as by gravity, or compressed air or similar to 'blow' the fibre strands. The discrete fibre strands may be allowed to fall so that they are deposited in random orientations on the surface of the resin film.
During the process of forming the resin-fibre-resin stacks, the cutting heads of the apparatus may be positioned above a moving resin film, so that the fibre strands are deposited directly onto the moving resin film. In this way, an optimised spread of the fibre strands may be achieved over the resin film surface. A further moving resin film may then be positioned over the fibre layer.
By varying the relative position and height of the cutting heads above the resin film, an optimised fibre deposition spread can be achieved.
Fibres may be directly deposited onto the resin film or may be cut and passed through an intermediate stage before being deposited onto the resin film. Such an intermediate stage could be in place to achieve better fibre mixing when using multiple fibres of differing types and lengths. Using a rotating or a static mixing mechanism to achieve a 'waterfall' effect allows fibre strands to be deposited with a high mass per unit area in a fibre layer.
Multiple fibre deposition stages can be employed in series or in parallel to achieve optimised deposition and increased fibre strand mass per unit area in a fibre layer. Multiple cutting and deposition phases can be combined to achieve a multi-layered fibre-resin product.
In a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a consolidated resin-fibre matrix produced using the method according to the first aspect of the invention.
In a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a reinforced composite material produced using the method according to the first aspect of the invention.
In a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a mould tool and/or a tool comprising the reinforced composite material according to the first aspect of the invention.
In a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided use of the consolidated resin-fibre matrix according to the third aspect of the invention in the manufacture of a reinforced composite material.
In a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided use of the reinforced composite material according to the fourth aspect of the invention in the manufacture of a mould tool and/or a tool.
FIGURES
Embodiments in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows an image of a lower resin film.
Figure 2 shows an image of a fibre layer.
Figure 3 shows an image of the upper resin film laying over a fibre layer.
Figure 4 shows a graph of the force required to break two samples of a reinforced composite material of an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 shows an image of a bladed roller cutting apparatus known in the art.
Figure 6 shows a sketch of the shearing apparatus of an embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION
The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles of the present invention is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description of embodiments of the invention disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as "lower," "upper," "horizontal," "vertical," "above," "below," "up," "down," "top" and "bottom" as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., "horizontally," "downwardly," "upwardly," etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated as such. Terms such as "attached," "affixed," "connected," "coupled," "interconnected," and similar refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention are illustrated by reference to the exemplified embodiments. Accordingly, the invention expressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features; the scope of the invention being defined by the claims appended hereto.
Figure 1 shows an image of a lower resin film ready to receive a plurality of discrete reinforcing fibre strands. Figure 2 shows a fibre layer following deposition of the reinforcing fibre strands. It can be seen that the fibre strands are arranged in random directions in order to achieve maximum strength and stiffness in all directions of the final reinforced composite material. Figure 3 shows an upper resin film lying over a fibre layer, so that the reinforcing fibre strands are sandwiched between lower and upper films thereby forming a resin-fibre-resin stack.
The graph in Figure 4 shows the force (N) required to bend and break a reinforced composite material of an embodiment of the present invention. The reinforced composite material in this example is a 7-ply laminate, which has been formed by arranging seven resin-fibre-resin stacks each comprising one fibre layer on top of one another, which is then fully cured to form a sheet. The reinforcing fibre material is carbon fibre (T700SC-12K, supplied by Toray Composite Materials America, Inc., as available on 1 January 2022) and the resin is an epoxy resin (Toray AmberTool® HX56 tooling resin, supplied by bray Advanced Composites, as available on 1 January 2022). Each fibre layer comprises 200mm long reinforcing fibre strands. The mass of the reinforcing fibre strands per unit area in a fibre layer is about 650g/m2, and the volume of the reinforcing fibre strands in a resin-fibre-resin stack is about 55%. The mass of resin per unit area in a resin-fibre-resin stack is about 350g/m2 (and the mass of resin per unit area in a film is about 175g/m2). The surface of the sheet is machined to allow three-point bending testing. A three-point bending test comprises two fixed supports and one moving head, positioned equidistant between the two fixed supports. The test coupon is placed across the two fixed supports and the moving head imparts a vertically downwards force on the test coupon, with force and displacement being measured. Specimens 1 and 2 as shown on the graph are samples taken from different areas of the cured reinforced composite material. It can be seen that both Specimens 1 and 2 break after a similar level of force is applied (about 1700N), which shows that the strength of the reinforced composite material is advantageously substantially uniform over at least these two areas.
Figure 5 shows an apparatus known in the art for cutting short carbon fibre strands in the range 5-50mm long. The length of carbon fibre strand is fed between two bladed rollers. The teeth on the right-hand wheel are responsible for cutting the lengths of fibre strand and the distance between the teeth determines the length of the cut carbon fibres.
Figure 6 shows an embodiment of the apparatus of the invention. The fibre strand lengths (5) may be fed from above through two rollers (10 and 15), which may be positioned between an upper plate (20) and lower plate (25). The rotating bladed arms (30) rotate on a shaft (35). The upper surface of an anvil (40) is fixed to the under surface of the lower plate (25) and the rotating bladed arms (30) rotate in intimate contact against the lower surface of the anvil (40). The fibres are pushed through apertures in the upper and lower plates (45 and 50) and apertures in the anvil (55) and every rotation of the bladed arms results in one or more fibre shearing operations.
It should be appreciated that in the above description of exemplary embodiments, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment.
While some embodiments described herein include some, but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the disclosure, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by the skilled person. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.
Thus, while certain embodiments have been described, it will be appreciated that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the disclosure, and it is intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other implementations, which fall within the true spirit and scope of this disclosure. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the scope of this disclosure is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.
While various implementations of the disclosure have been described, it will be readily apparent to the skilled person that many more implementations are possible within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims (25)

  1. CLAIMS1. A method of manufacturing a fibre reinforced composite material for use as a composite tooling material comprising the following steps: step 1: providing a lower film comprising resin; step 2: depositing a plurality of discrete reinforcing fibre strands onto the lower film to form a first fibre layer on the lower film; step 3: depositing an upper film comprising resin over the first fibre layer, so that the reinforcing fibre strands are sandwiched between the lower and upper films thereby forming a resin-fibre-resin stack; wherein the length of each reinforcing fibre strand is individually between about 100 and 300mm; and wherein the plurality of discrete reinforcing fibre strands comprise carbon fibre strands.
  2. 2 The method according to claim 1, comprising the following additional steps: step 4: depositing a plurality of discrete reinforcing fibre strands onto the upper surface of the resin-fibre-resin stack to form a further fibre layer; step 5: depositing a further film comprising resin over the further fibre layer, so that the reinforcing fibre strands are sandwiched between the upper surface of the resin-fibreresin stack and the further film, thereby extending the resin-fibre-resin stack; and optionally wherein steps 4 and 5 are repeated one or more times.
  3. 3 The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the carbon fibre strands comprise polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon, rayon-based carbon and/or pitch-based carbon.
  4. 4. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the carbon fibre strands comprise polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon.
  5. 5. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of discrete reinforcing fibre strands additionally comprise glass, aramid, ceramic, flax and/or boron.
  6. 6 The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the length of each discrete reinforcing fibre strand is between about 110 and 290mm, optionally between about 130 and 270 mm, and further optionally between about 150 and 250 mm..
  7. 7. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the discrete reinforcing fibre strands are deposited in random orientations on the film.
  8. 8. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the volume of the reinforcing fibre strands in the resin-fibre-resin stack is between 35% and 80%, optionally between 45% and 70%, and further optionally between 50% and 65%.
  9. 9 The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the mass of the reinforcing fibre strands per unit area in a fibre layer is in the range of 100g/m2 to 30009/m2, optionally in the range 200g/m2 to 20009/m2, and further optionally in the range 500g/m2 to 10009/m2.
  10. 10. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein each fibre layer independently comprises reinforcing fibre strands of different lengths, or each fibre layer independently comprises reinforcing fibre strands of substantially the same length.
  11. 11. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein each fibre layer independently comprises reinforcing fibre strands of the same material, or each fibre layer independently comprises reinforcing fibre strands of a different material.
  12. 12. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the resin cures to form a thermosetting polymer, and optionally the thermosetting polymer comprises one or more of epoxy, polyester, viny ester, cyanate ester, bismaleimide, benzoxazine, polyamide, polyimide and phenolic.
  13. 13. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the mass of resin per unit area in a film is between 50g/m2 and 1500g/m2, optionally between 100g/m2 and 1000g/m2, and further optionally between 150g/m2 and 600g/m2.
  14. 14. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the resin-fibre-resin stack is passed through one or more sets of rollers to partially cure the resin and to form a consolidated resin-fibre matrix.
  15. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the consolidated resin-fibre matrix is fully cured to form the reinforced composite material.
  16. 16. The method according to claims 14 or 15, further comprising placing the consolidated resin-fibre matrix into or over a forming tool and curing the consolidated resin-fibre matrix, in order to make an object.
  17. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the object is a tool or a mould tool.
  18. 18. The method according to any preceding claim, in which the fibre strands are cut to length by one or more rotating bladed arms prior to depositing in steps 2 and 4.
  19. 19. An apparatus for cutting lengths of reinforcing fibre strand to the desired length for use in the method according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus comprises: one or more apertures; a means for feeding lengths of reinforcing fibre strand through the one or more apertures, and means for varying the speed at which the lengths of reinforcing fibre strand are fed through the one or more apertures; one or more rotating bladed arms, wherein the rotating bladed arms rotate in a plane and the direction of movement of the bladed arms within the plane is the shear direction; means for varying the speed of the rotating bladed arms; and wherein, in use, as the lengths of reinforcing fibre strand pass through the one or more apertures the one or more rotating bladed arms shear the lengths of reinforcing fibre strand to the desired length.
  20. 20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the angle between the shear direction of the one or more rotating bladed arms and the direction of feed of the lengths of reinforcing fibre strand is substantially perpendicular, or acute, or obtuse.
  21. 21. A consolidated resin-fibre matrix produced using the method of any one of claims 1 to 18.
  22. 22. A fibre reinforced composite material produced using the method of any one of claims 1 to 18.
  23. 23. A mould tool and/or a tool comprising the reinforced composite material of any one of claims 1 to 18.
  24. 24. Use of the consolidated resin-fibre matrix according to claim 21 in the manufacture of a reinforced composite material.
  25. 25. Use of the reinforced composite material according to claim 22 in the manufacture of a mould tool and/or a tool.
GB2305561.9A 2022-04-14 2023-04-14 Fibre reinforced composite material Pending GB2618910A (en)

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Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1427505A (en) * 1973-09-17 1976-03-10 Material Systems Corp Method for continuously forming high filler content composite panels and shapes
JPH01306663A (en) * 1988-05-31 1989-12-11 Sekisui Chem Co Ltd Production of formed fiber material for thermo-forming
US5106679A (en) * 1989-08-01 1992-04-21 S. T. Truth Co., Ltd. Automotive molded ceiling material and method of producing the same
US20050176328A1 (en) * 2004-02-05 2005-08-11 Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. Backup board for machining process

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1427505A (en) * 1973-09-17 1976-03-10 Material Systems Corp Method for continuously forming high filler content composite panels and shapes
JPH01306663A (en) * 1988-05-31 1989-12-11 Sekisui Chem Co Ltd Production of formed fiber material for thermo-forming
US5106679A (en) * 1989-08-01 1992-04-21 S. T. Truth Co., Ltd. Automotive molded ceiling material and method of producing the same
US20050176328A1 (en) * 2004-02-05 2005-08-11 Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. Backup board for machining process

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GB202205548D0 (en) 2022-06-01
GB202305561D0 (en) 2023-05-31

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