Patent ID: 9682515
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: B29B,B29C,B29K,B32B,Y10T

Claim:
1. A process for preparing an intermediate material for use in fabricating composite parts by injection or infusion of thermosetting resin into said intermediate material, said process comprising the steps of: a) providing a dimensioned ribbon which is free of thermosetting resin, said dimensioned ribbon having first and second faces that extend between edges of said dimensioned ribbon, said dimensioned ribbon comprising unidirectional reinforcement strands or filaments that extend in a direction parallel to the edges of said dimensioned ribbon, said dimensioned ribbon having a width between said edges of from 3 millimeters to 600 millimeters and a length, wherein the standard deviation of said dimensioned ribbon width over the entire length of said dimensioned ribbon is less than 0.25 millimeters; b) providing a first layer of nonwoven material or fabric material, said first layer of nonwoven material or fabric material comprising thermoplastic fibers, said first layer of nonwoven material or fabric material having a thickness and a width; c) providing a second layer of nonwoven material or fabric material, said second layer of nonwoven material or fabric material comprising thermoplastic fibers, said second layer of nonwoven material or fabric material having a thickness and a width; d) heating said first and second layers of nonwoven material or fabric material to a sufficient temperature to soften said thermoplastic fibers to form a softened first layer comprising softened thermoplastic fibers and a softened second layer comprising softened thermoplastic fibers, said softened first layer and said softened second layer each having a thickness; e) bonding said softened first layer to the first face of said dimensioned ribbon and bonding said softened second layer to the second face of said dimensioned ribbon, said bonding comprising the steps of pressing said first and second softened layers against the dimensioned ribbon with a pressure that is sufficient to reduce the thickness of said softened first and second layers such that the thickness of said softened first layer is less than the thickness of said first layer of nonwoven material or fabric material and the thickness of said softened second layer is less than the thickness of said second layer of nonwoven material or fabric material and wherein said softened first and second layers extend outward past the edges of said dimensioned ribbon to form softened overflow areas which consist of said softened first layer directly bonded to said softened second layer, said bonding step further including cooling said softened first layer and said softened second layer to form cooled overflow areas which extend along each edge of said dimensioned ribbon; and f) cutting said softened or cooled overflow areas along said edges without cutting into the unidirectional reinforcement strands or filaments in order to form said intermediate material and maintain the standard deviation of said ribbon width at less than 0.25 millimeters over the entire length of said intermediate material wherein the total weight of the first and second thermoplastic layers is less than 15% of the total weight of the intermediate material and wherein the cut edges of said cooled overflow areas forms the edges of said intermediate material.