| 摘要 |
A fiber laminator for simultaneously laying down a strip of parallel, flat fiber rovings is disclosed. A head (53) for dispensing the rovings to be laid down is supported by a gantry (51). The gantry (51) includes mechanisms for moving the dispensing head longitudinally along three orthogonal axes (X, Y, Z) and rotationally about a vertical axis(c). Further, the dispensing head is designed for rotational movement about a horizontal axis(a). Thus, the dispensing head is movable along a complex path-of-travel as the fiber rovings are laid down. Each fiber roving is supplied by a spool (30) mounted on one side of the head. After leaving the spools (301), the fiber rovings pass through nip rollers (305) that apply a slight pressure to the already flat rovings to remove any remaining thickness irregularities. Thereafter, the rovings are directed to individual modules each of which includes a separately controlled rethreading mechanism (713) and a separate shear mechanism (741). Because the rethreading mechanism (713) and the shear mechanisms (741) are separately controllable, individual rovings can be deleted from and/or added to a fiber roving strip as it is being laid down. The modules are mounted in a subframe (503) attached to a mainframe (501). Located between the mainframe (501) and a support structure is an air insulator cushion (541) that applies vertical pressure to the subframe (503). After leaving the modules, the rovings are pressed against an underlying contoured surface, e.g., a tool, by a tack down roller (511) mounted at the lower end of the subframe. Constant pressure over slight elevation changes is maintain by the air insulator cushion (541). Large elevation changes cause the gantry (51) to elevate the entire head (53). Mounted on opposite sides of the subframe roller are laser cameras (521) whose outputs are used to control the position of the dispensing head (53) and, thus, the tack down roller (511) about the head's rotational horizontal axis (a).
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