| 摘要 |
A fiber reinforced, composite article is manufactured by forming a nonwoven, air-laid batt from a single fiber type or a mixture of fibers. The batt is either resinated with a thermoplastic material or includes a thermoplastic binder fiber. The batt is formed into a preform having the desired shape in a through-air mold (98) and heated sufficiently to set the thermoplastic material, so that the resulting preform retains the desired shape and is sufficiently stiff to withstand the pressure of the injected resin. The preform is then transferred to a resin injection mold (110), where the interstices between the fibers are saturated with an appropriate resin matrix. As the fibers of the preform are saturated (or after a saturation but before the resin sets) the resin transfer mold is compressed, thereby forming the preform into its final desired thickness and increasing the concentration of the fibers to give the preform appropriate strength. Accordingly, the preform retains the open characteristics permitting easy injection of the resin, while later being compressed to increase the concentration of the reinforcing fibers to give the resulting composite the appropriate strength. |
