| 摘要 |
A composite braiding apparatus has a rotatable cantilever mandrel support 20 that is capable of supporting multiple mandrels 17a and 17b. The mandrels can be properly oriented to be braided without removing them from the mandrel support 20. Once the braiding operation has begun on one mandrel 17, subsequent mandrels can be mounted on the mandrel support 20 while braiding is taking place. Then, when a braiding operation is completed, the other mandrel 17 can be moved into proper position for braiding. The invention also allows one mandrel 17a (or 17b) to be braided while the opposite mandrel 17b (or 17a) that is not being braided can be worked on manually without stopping the braiding operation. In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a braiding apparatus 10' has two braid ring assemblies 11a and 11b. Both braiding rings 12a and 12b are mounted at opposite ends of a guide track 26. The inclusion of the second braiding ring 12b allows a second set of composite filaments 28 to be wound onto a mandrel 17a (or 17b) by a 180 degree rotation of the mandrel support 20, and possibly allows simultaneous braiding of two mandrels 17a and 17b.
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