Method and a system for producing a component or semifinished product with a fibre-reinforced foam core

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11820085-B2
Application number	US-202016876250-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 18, 2020
Priority date	May 29, 2019
Publication date	Nov 21, 2023
Grant date	Nov 21, 2023

Abstract

A method for producing a component with a fibre-reinforced foam core has the steps of supplying a foam core having a first main surface and an opposite, second main surface, positioning at least one needle at the first main surface of the foam core, piercing the foam core with the needle, with the result that a needle tip penetrates through the first main surface into the foam core and then through the second main surface, hooking a reinforcing fibre into the needle tip, pulling the needle back, with the result that the reinforcing fibre is pulled through the foam core, and coating the reinforcing fibre with a resin while the needle is being pulled back.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for producing a component or semifinished product with a fibre-reinforced foam core, comprising:
supplying a flat or three-dimensionally curved/shaped foam core having a first main surface and an opposite, second main surface;
positioning at least one needle at the first main surface of the foam core;
piercing the foam core with the needle, with the result that a needle tip penetrates through the first main surface into the foam core and then through the second main surface;
hooking a reinforcing fibre into the needle tip;
pulling the needle back, with the result that the reinforcing fibre is pulled through the foam core; and
coating the reinforcing fibre with a liquid or powdered resin while the needle is being pulled back
wherein piercing by the needle comprises penetration into a needle hole of a needle plate, on which the foam core is laid, and
wherein coating of the reinforcing fibre is carried out by a coating device in the needle hole.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein coating is begun as soon as the reinforcing fibre is in the process of entering the foam core, and wherein coating is ended as soon as the reinforcing fibre has been pulled completely into the foam core.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the coating device has a roll arrangement, through which the reinforcing fibre is passed.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the roll arrangement has at least two calender rolls, configured to be moved into surface contact with the reinforcing fibre for coating and to be moved away from the reinforcing fibre to interrupt coating.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein, to produce the surface contact, the calender rolls are moved up to the reinforcing fibre on two sides to enclose said fibre.

6. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the calender rolls are moved into surface contact with the reinforcing fibre as soon as the needle tip is in the process of leaving the needle hole.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising arranging at least one covering layer on at least one of the first main surface and the second main surface to form a first preform.

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Gmbh

Inventors

• Endres Gregor Christian

Classifications

• B29C70/086 Primary

  and with one or more layers of pure plastics material, e.g. foam layers (applying a non-preformed coating, e.g. a gel-coat, B29C37/0025; with foam blocks B29C70/86) · CPC title

• B29C44/569

  Shaping and joining components with different densities or hardness · CPC title

• B32B5/18

  characterised by features of a layer {of} foamed material · CPC title

• B32B2260/046

  Synthetic resin · CPC title

• B29C70/24 Primary

  oriented in at least three directions forming a three-dimensional [3D] structure · CPC title