RU216764U1 - Sealing mechanism for automatic laying out of carbon fiber tape - Google Patents

Abstract

The sealing mechanism for automated laying out of carbon fiber tape belongs to the field of automated laying out of polymer composite materials.

The sealing mechanism for laying out carbon fiber contains a cylindrical body (1) with a locking ring (2) coaxially threaded into the central hole of the body. In the hole of the fixing ring (2), sealing (3) and auxiliary (4) balls are installed, which are able to rotate, overcoming the rolling friction force. The auxiliary ball (4) is in contact with the clamping support (5), through which pressure is transferred to the balls (3, 4) with a given force through a cylindrical spring (6), a rod (7), a prism (8) from the adjusting screw (9), forming a pressure transfer mechanism. The prism (8) and the adjusting screw (9) are placed in a hole made in the body (1) orthogonally to the axial hole. For connection to the equipment for laying out, the sealing mechanism is equipped with an adapter flange (11) with a groove and a mating flange (10) with a mating ledge.

The technical result is the possibility of carrying out a curvilinear laying out of carbon fiber due to a small contact patch between the sealing ball and the tooling, which ultimately will improve the quality of products with a carbon structure.

Description

The utility model relates to the field of automated laying out of polymer composite materials.

The production process of fiber composites requires the application of successive layers of fibrous reinforcing material to the product during installation. The matrix material is usually pre-applied to a fibrous reinforcing material (pre-impregnated or "prepreg") before the component is laid. The compaction and reduction of the volume of fibrous structures is carried out by compacting mechanisms. Most often, the sealing mechanism is made in the form of cylindrical rollers.

The sealing mechanism for automated laying out of carbon fiber tape is designed for: material compaction when laying out tapes with a width of 0.1 mm to 6.35 mm from polymer composite materials, along a curved path without the formation of waves, twisting and tearing of the tape; for automatic laying out of a prepreg tape (most often based on thermoplastic material) on a shaping tool in the form of several narrow tapes; for the manufacture of curvilinear geometry parts in the aerospace and other industries.

Equipment for laying composite material is known (patent US2020215766(A1), Composite material lay-up equipment, published on 07/09/2020). The equipment includes a support head, a cutting mechanism carried by the support head for cutting a plurality of individual lengths of elongated fiber of the reinforcing material.

The disadvantage of this technical solution is the impossibility of laying out the carbon fiber tape along a curved path with a certain radius without twisting, wave formation and breaks.

A device is known in which the head for sealing/pressing carbon fiber is made in the form of a segmented sealing roller. The device contains a head movement system for compaction (patent US2014083620(A1), Fiber application head including a segmented compaction roller, published 03/27/2014). The device is equipped with a sealing roller that presses the fibrous tape to the surface, which contains several independent segments installed next to each other on the axial rod, each segment being able to move independently, perpendicular to the axial rod, and elastically pressed against the surface to be sealed. Each segment has a tubular central part mounted on an axial rod and a tubular peripheral part having a cylindrical outer surface and one or more curved spring plates.

Disadvantages of this arrangement include a tendency for resin to build up between the segments, making it difficult to provide a flat sealing surface and not being able to lay out the carbon fiber strip in a curved path with a small radius.

A roller device for use in an automated carbon fiber placement process is known (patent CN110065244B, Roller device for use in an automated fiber placement process, published 09/20/2022). The device consists of a spiral spring, which is a flexible shaft, and a roller cover is installed on the spring shaft. The tension mechanism runs along the central axis of the spring shaft and has the ability to adjust the degree of bending of the spring shaft.

The main disadvantage of this technical solution is the impossibility of a curved laying out of carbon fiber, but only a straight laying out on a flat surface.

A known fiber laying machine with a presser assembly for it and a method for laying and compacting fiber tows (patent US4869774, Fiber laying machine, presser assembly therefor, and method of laying and compacting fiber tows, published 09/26/1989). The machine is equipped with a tow laying head having a segmented pressing unit that adapts to contour deviations on the laying surface.

The main disadvantage is the impossibility of a curved laying out of carbon fiber, but only a straight laying out on a flat surface.

Known roller for automated fiber placement (patent US2022126531, AUTOMATED FIBER PLACEMENT ROLLER, published 04/28/2022), taken as a prototype. The roller for automated fiber placement is made in the form of a hollow cylinder and includes a flexible metal rim located around the central axis and having an inner side and an outer side. The central axis is located closer to the inner side than to the outer side, and the inner side forms a plurality of grooves that provide elastic deformation of the metal element of the rim in response to the force applied to the outer side. The roller also includes a hub element located concentrically to the flexible rim on the central axis. The hub member forms an opening for receiving the shaft of the automatic fiber laying machine. The roller further includes a plurality of curved connecting elements extending between the hub element and the flexible rim element. Each of the curved connecting members resiliently deforms to compensate for the deformation of the flexible rim member.

The main disadvantage is the impossibility of a curved laying out of carbon fiber, but only a straight laying out on a flat surface.

The task to be solved by the claimed utility model is the possibility of carrying out a curvilinear laying out of carbon fiber.

A sealing mechanism for automated laying out of a carbon fiber tape, made in the form of a body of rotation that exerts pressure on the reinforcing material, according to the utility model, contains a sealing and auxiliary balls installed in the fixing ring of a cylindrical body along their common axis, the auxiliary ball being in contact with the pressure pad to transfer pressure through the spring, rod and prism from the adjusting screw to the sealing ball, while the prism and adjusting screw are located in the orthogonal hole of the housing.

The technical result provided by the given combination of features is the possibility of carrying out a curved laying out of carbon fiber due to a small contact patch between the sealing ball and the tooling, which will ultimately improve the quality of the product with a carbon structure.

The essence of the utility model is illustrated by drawings: Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the sealing mechanism, FIG. 2 isometric view.

The sealing mechanism for laying out carbon fiber contains a cylindrical body 1, with a locking ring 2 coaxially threaded into the central hole of the body. In the hole of the fixing ring 2, sealing 3 and auxiliary 4 balls are installed, which are able to rotate, overcoming the rolling friction force. Two balls are used in order to reduce the contact patch between the balls and thereby reduce the rolling friction force between them, which in turn will lead to less wear on the sealing ball 3 during operation. Auxiliary ball 4 is in contact with clamping support 5, through which pressure is transferred to balls 3, 4 with a given force through a cylindrical spring 6, rod 7, prism 8 from an adjusting screw 9, forming a pressure transmission mechanism. The prism 8 and the adjusting screw 9 are placed in a hole made in the body 1 orthogonal to the axial hole. For connection to the equipment for laying out, the sealing mechanism is provided with an adapter flange 11 with a groove and a mating flange 10 with a mating ledge.

Balls are made of elastic polymeric material - polyurethane.

Sealing mechanism for automated laying of carbon fiber tape works as follows.

The sealing mechanism, pre-attached to the equipment for automated laying of carbon fiber, is placed on the surface of the tooling. The sealing mechanism moves along a given curvilinear trajectory of a certain radius using equipment for automated laying out of carbon fiber. The sealing ball 3 and the auxiliary ball 4, overcoming the force of rolling friction, rotate. The rotation of the balls along a curvilinear trajectory is possible due to the contact patch of a small area between them and the tooling. This fact makes it possible to lay out the carbon fiber along a curvilinear trajectory of various radii. The balls in the process of movement have a clamping effect on the material, thereby compacting it to the surface of the display. The amount of compaction depends on the stiffness of the spring, therefore, before starting work, it is necessary to adjust the spring stiffness in order to increase the pressing force on the compacting mechanism. To do this, the adjusting screw 9 is tightened manually with a tool. When adjusting the position of the rod relative to the pressure pad, the principle of the wedge is used. The adjusting screw 9, resting against the prism 8, exerts a pushing effect on the prism, which makes it possible to exert a sliding effect on the stem 7, changing the distance along the central axis of the housing between the stem and the clamping support 5 of the auxiliary ball, which in turn allows you to change the spring stiffness. Thus, the pressure adjustment system of the sealing mechanism acts on the balls, which in turn begin to exert more or less force on the material to be compacted.

As a result of using the proposed sealing device for laying out carbon fiber, it is possible to lay out a carbon fiber tape in a curved pattern, which improves the quality of parts made from carbon fiber.

Claims (1)

A sealing mechanism for automated laying out of a carbon fiber tape, made in the form of a body of rotation that exerts pressure on the reinforcing material, characterized in that it contains a sealing and auxiliary balls installed in the fixing ring of a cylindrical body along their common axis, the auxiliary ball being in contact with the pressure pad to transfer pressure through the spring, rod and prism from the adjusting screw to the sealing ball, while the prism and adjusting screw are located in the orthogonal hole of the housing.

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