Fiber-laying machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10603849-B2
Application number	US-201615556226-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 4, 2016
Priority date	Mar 6, 2015
Publication date	Mar 31, 2020
Grant date	Mar 31, 2020

Abstract

Various embodiments relate to a fiber-laying machine for producing laid fiber scrims, including a tool table for feeding a workpiece along a feed direction; a laying head for applying fibers onto the workpiece; and a fiber-providing unit for feeding several fiber strands to the laying head; the several fiber strands are combined on the laying head to form a fiber web which is to be applied onto the workpiece; the laying head is movable in a laying direction relative to the fiber-providing unit; a clamping device is arranged on the laying head for releasably clamping the fiber strands, a portion of the fiber web is laid on the workpiece once the fiber strands have been pulled forward by a laying stroke by means of the laying head such that while the fibers are being applied on the workpiece, no fibers are pulled out of the fiber-providing unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fiber-laying machine for producing laid fiber scrims, comprising:
a tool table for feeding a workpiece along a feed direction;
a laying head for applying fibers onto the workpiece; and
a fiber-providing unit for feeding several fiber strands to the laying head, wherein the fiber-providing unit comprises a spool and at least one hopper;
wherein the several fiber strands are combined on the laying head to form a fiber web which is to be applied onto the workpiece;
wherein the laying head is movable relative to the fiber-providing unit in a laying direction; and
wherein a clamping device is arranged on the laying head for releasably clamping the fiber strands, wherein a portion of the fiber web is laid on the workpiece once the fiber strands have been pulled forward such that while the fibers are being applied on the workpiece, no fibers are pulled out of the fiber-providing unit.

2. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the workpiece is arranged on an automated conveyable pallet.

3. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 2 , wherein a surface of the pallet carrying the workpiece slopes at an angle of less than 30 degrees in relation to a perpendicular.

4. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the laying direction runs in a plane which slopes at an angle of less than 30 degrees in relation to the perpendicular.

5. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fibers are severable by a cutting device arranged on the laying head, wherein the cutting device includes a plurality of separately actuatable cutting members which can sever different parts of the fibers transversely with respect to the laying direction.

6. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the cutting device includes an actuator member for actuating at least one of the cutting members, wherein the actuator member is realized separately from the cutting member and is arranged on an upper part of the laying head which can be removed for maintenance purposes.

7. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fiber-providing unit is arranged in a stationary manner, wherein the laying head is movable relative to the fiber-providing unit only in precisely one plane.

8. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the clamping device is disengaged whilst the portion of the fiber web is laid.

9. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the clamping device includes at least one pinch roller.

10. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the laying head includes two feeds which run at an angle with respect to one another, wherein by a first of the feeds a first group of fiber strands and by a second of the feeds a second group of fiber strands are guided into an intersection region in order to combine the two groups of fiber strands to form the fiber web.

11. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising at least one pre-feed roller on the laying head for the driven forward feed, wherein the pre-feed roller is arranged between the clamping device and an outlet-side compacting roller of the laying head.

12. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fiber-laying machine is constructed completely on a machine frame.

13. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fiber laying machine includes a climatically closed housing.

14. The fiber-laying machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the respective fiber strands are wound onto interchangeable spools, wherein the spools sit on rotational axes which are driven counter to an unwinding direction, wherein the drives of the rotational axes comprise a torque limitation element.

15. A system for producing fiber composite components, comprising:
at least one first fiber laying machine as claimed in claim 1 , for applying laid fiber scrims onto a workpiece; and
a further processing station, different from the at least one first fiber-laying machine, for modifying the workpiece;
wherein the workpiece is movable by an automated conveying device both to the fiber-laying machine and to the further processing station.

16. The system as claimed in claim 15 , further comprising a second fiber-laying machine which is structurally identical to the first fiber-laying machine, wherein the second fiber-laying machine is spatially separated from the first fiber-laying machine and is connected to the first fiber-laying machine by the automated conveying device.

17. The system as claimed in claim 16 , further comprising a plurality of fiber-laying machines provided as parallel processing stations which carry out the same processing steps on simultaneously processed workpieces.

18. The system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the plurality of fiber-laying machines carry out different processing steps one after another on a workpiece as sequential processing stations.

19. The system as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the automated conveying device comprises a loading device, by which it is possible to load and unload the fiber-laying machine from only one side.

20. The system as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the loading device is realized as a rotation-reversing device which comprises a rotatable bracket for receiving at least two workpieces.

21. The system as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the system includes at least one buffer station for receiving, storing and forwarding several workpieces.

22. The system as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the further processing station comprises at least one item selected from the group consisting of: a forming device, a temperature chamber and a painting device.

23. The system as claimed in claim 15 , wherein a laying head of the fiber-laying machine is movable in a perpendicular plane, wherein an angle between the perpendicular plane and a loading path of the fiber-laying machine is between 0° and 30°.

24. The system as claimed in claim 15 , wherein a laying head of the fiber-laying machine is movable in a perpendicular plane, wherein a fiber spool storage unit of the fiber-laying machine includes a plurality of fiber spools with spool axes which are parallel with respect to one another, and wherein an angle between the spool axes and the perpendicular plane is between 60° and 90°.

25. A method for laying a fiber web on a workpiece, the method comprising:
clamping a plurality of fibers to be laid in a clamping device of a laying head;
moving the laying head into a start position relative to a fiber-providing unit, wherein the fiber-providing unit comprises a spool and at least one hopper, wherein the plurality of fibers are pulled out of the fiber-providing unit;
disengaging the clamping device; and
moving the laying head from the start position into an end position whilst laying the plurality of fibers on the workpiece such that whilst the fibers are being applied on the workpiece, no fibers are pulled out of the fiber-providing unit.

26. The method as claimed in claim 25 , wherein after disengaging the clamping device the fibers are moved in relation to the laying head by a driven pre-feed roller, wherein the fibers are not pulled out of the fiber-providing unit by the pre-feed roller.

Assignees

• Broetje Automation Gmbh

Inventors

• Boge Christian
• Meyer Matthias
• Peters Axel

Classifications

• B29C70/382

  Automated fiber placement [AFP] · CPC title

• B29C70/38

  Automated lay-up, e.g. using robots, laying filaments according to predetermined patterns {(application heads for tyres B29D30/28)} · CPC title

• B29C70/384 Primary

  Fiber placement heads, e.g. component parts, details or accessories · CPC title

• B29C70/545

  Perforating, cutting or machining during or after moulding · CPC title