Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9145277B2/en
Timestamp: 2020-02-24 22:07:51
Document Index: 333692121

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 13171125', 'Application No. 13171126', 'Application No. 13171128', 'Application No. 13171125', 'Application No. 13171126', 'Application No. 13171128', 'Application No. 2', 'Application No. 2']

US9145277B2 - System and method of manufacturing composite core - Google Patents
System and method of manufacturing composite core Download PDF
US9145277B2
US9145277B2 US13/782,180 US201313782180A US9145277B2 US 9145277 B2 US9145277 B2 US 9145277B2 US 201313782180 A US201313782180 A US 201313782180A US 9145277 B2 US9145277 B2 US 9145277B2
US13/782,180
US20140246142A1 (en
Phillip A. Kendrick
2013-03-01 Application filed by Bell Helicopter Textron Inc filed Critical Bell Helicopter Textron Inc
2013-03-01 Priority to US13/782,180 priority Critical patent/US9145277B2/en
2013-03-01 Assigned to BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON INC. reassignment BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: Armstrong, Levi H., Oberle, Elizabeth, Kendrick, Phillip A., OLDROYD, PAUL K.
2014-02-26 Priority claimed from CA2844136A external-priority patent/CA2844136C/en
2014-09-04 Publication of US20140246142A1 publication Critical patent/US20140246142A1/en
2015-09-29 Publication of US9145277B2 publication Critical patent/US9145277B2/en
239000002131 composite material Substances 0 abstract claims description title 121
A method of manufacturing a composite core can include: wrapping a mandrel in a mandrel wrapping process by securing a mandrel with a winding jig; orienting the composite material at a wrap angle to the mandrel; and depositing the composite material around a circumference of the mandrel. The method can further include assembling the wrapped mandrels in a tool and applying a pressure to the composite material during a curing cycle.
The present disclosure relates to a system and method of manufacturing composite core.
A composite structure, such as a composite honeycomb core, can conventionally be manufactured using a manual process of creating a corrugated pattern in a plurality of composite layers by pressing mandrels against the composite layers. For example, the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,500, utilizes such a process. The geometry of adjacent composite layers to collectively form the cells of the honeycomb core. Such a process is labor intensive which can make the honeycomb core product very expensive. Further, this manufacturing method can result honeycomb core that is not optimal for various structural implementations.
Hence, there is a need for an improved system and method for manufacturing composite core.
FIG. 20 is a plan view of a plurality of composite-wrapped mandrels assembled in a tool, according to one example embodiment; and
FIG. 21 is a cross-section view of a mandrel taken from FIG. 8, according to one example embodiment.
In one example embodiment, a Teflon material, or other bond resistant material or coating, can be used to prevent the composite material from bonding to the exterior surface of mandrel 701 during the cure cycle. As such, each mandrel 701 can include a layer 709 of the bond resistant material adjacent to the outer surface 707 of each mandrel 701.
Referring also to FIG. 8, an embodiment of winding jig 805 is illustrated. Winding jig 805 is configured to position and retain mandrel 701 for the depositing of composite material thereon. It should be appreciated that winding jig 805 can take on a variety of implementation specific configurations. In one embodiment, winding jig 805 can include a driver 809 and a support member 811. Adapters 813 a and 813 b are operably associated with driver 809 and support member 811, respectively. A coupling 815 a is positioned between driver 809 and a first end portion of mandrel 701. Similarly, a coupling 815 b is positioned between support member 811 and a second end portion of mandrel 701.
Winding jig 805 is configured to operably secure mandrel 701 between couplings 815 a and 815 b. Couplings 815 a and 815 b have similar geometry to that of mandrel 701. Further, winding jig 805 is configured such that the geometry of couplings 815 a and 815 b are aligned with mandrel 701 during the composite material winding process. In the illustrated embodiment, driver 809 is configured to drive the rotation of adapters 813 a and 813 b, couplings 815 a and 815 b, and mandrel, while support member 811 is configured to provide freewheeling support. In an alternative embodiment, mandrel 701 and couplings 815 a and 815 b are held stationary while a device operates to place the composite material about the mandrel and couplings 815 a and 815 b, as discussed further herein. It should be appreciated that winding jig 805 is merely illustrative of a fixture that can be used to facilitate the depositing of composite material onto mandrel 701 in step 605 of method 601.
Referring also to FIG. 9A, one non-limiting example embodiment of winding jig 805 for performing at least step 605 of method 601 is illustrated. Winding jig 805 is mounted to a platform 817 that can be translated along a prescribed path. A first end portion of slit 819 can be secured to a mount 821 that is secured to platform 817. Slit 819 is positioned through an opening 823 in coupling 815 b. A second end portion of slit 819 can remain part of a roll 827 of composite material. In one embodiment, a plurality of cutting members cut roll 827 of composite material into a plurality of slits 819 at prescribed widths, each slit 819 being fed to different winding jigs 805. Platform 817 is biased in direction 825 by a constant tension member such that slit 819 is held in tension. Mount 821 and roll 817 are positioned so that slit 819 is oriented at a desired angle relative to mandrel 701. In the illustrated embodiment, the desired angle of slit 819 is 45 degrees; however, slit 819 can be oriented at any desired angle.
Referring also to FIG. 11, another example embodiment of a winding jig 1105 for wrapping composite material on each mandrel 701 in step 605 is illustrated. Winding jig 1105 is substantially similar to winding jig 1005; however, winding jig 1105 is configured so that mandrel 701 is rotated in a direction 1107 while material placement head 1001 translates along an axis of mandrel 701 corresponding with direction 1009. In such an embodiment, slit 819 can be secured to coupling 815 a, for example, so that tension can be formed in slit 819 as material placement head 1001 translates and mandrel 701 rotates.
Referring again to FIGS. 6 and 7, step 607 of method 601 includes assembling the wrapped mandrels. Step 607 can further include assembling and inserting the wrapped mandrels in a tool or other fixture. The exact configuration of the tool is implementation specific. Referring now also to FIGS. 18-20, an example of a tool 1201 is illustrated. Tool 1201 is configured to produce a hexagonal shaped core member; however, tool 1201 can be configured to provide any desirable shape. For example, alternative shapes of tool 1201 can be configured to produce circular, square, rectangular, or even part customized core shapes. In the illustrated embodiment, the plurality of mandrels 701 having wrapped composite material are assembled onto partial tool members 1203 a-1203 f in a pyramid shape. In one embodiment, system 801 is configured to automate the assembly and stacking of wrapped mandrels, as shown in FIG. 7. In another embodiment, the assembly and stacking of wrapped mandrels can be performed manually. Each partial tool member 1203 a-1203 f can include apertures 1205 to control and tailor any thermal expansion of the partial tool member 1203 a-1203 f during the cure process. In one embodiment, each partial tool member 1203 a-1203 f is stacked with seven levels of wrapped mandrels. Upon assembling each partial tool member 1203 a-1203 f and their wrapped mandrels, one additional wrapped mandrel 1205 is located in the center. However, it should be appreciated that each partial tool member 1203 a-1203 f may be stacked with wrapped mandrels and assembled in a variety of ways.
The systems and methods disclosed herein include one or more of the following advantages. The method of the present disclosure allows for the efficient production of composite core, which can reduce the cost of the composite core. Further, wrapping mandrels with unidirectional slits provides tailorability of the composite core. Further, the method of curing composite core results in a high quality composite core.
1. A method of wrapping a mandrel with a composite material, the method comprising:
securing the mandrel and a first coupling with a winding jig such that the first coupling is located adjacent to a first end of the mandrel while sharing a central axis with the mandrel, the mandrel and the first coupling each having a same hexagonal shape and hexagonal circumference, wherein the mandrel has a hollow interior extending along a length of the mandrel to provide a fluid passage for heating of the mandrel during a curing process;
orienting the composite material at a wrap angle to the mandrel and the first coupling and
depositing the composite material around the hexagonal circumference of the mandrel and the first coupling starting from the first coupling, such that the composite material completely covers the hexagonal circumference of the first end of the mandrel.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the composite material is a slit of composite material, the slit having a prescribed width.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of depositing the composite material around the hexagonal circumference of the mandrel includes wrapping the slit of composite material at the wrap angle that prevents formation of a gap in the slit of composite material as the slit is wrapped around the mandrel.
cutting the composite material to a prescribed width so that the step of depositing the composite material around the circumference of the mandrel produces a helical seam.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of depositing the composite material around the hexagonal circumference of the mandrel includes rotating the mandrel on the winding jig while maintaining the wrap angle of the composite material to the mandrel.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the maintaining the wrap angle of the composite material to the mandrel includes translating the winding jig toward a source of the composite material.
7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of depositing the composite material around the hexagonal circumference of the mandrel includes rotating a material feed head around the mandrel.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of depositing the composite material around the hexagonal circumference of the mandrel further includes translating the material feed head in a direction corresponding with the central axis of the mandrel.
9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of depositing the composite material around the circumference of the mandrel further includes translating the mandrel in a first direction corresponding with the central axis of the mandrel.
10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of depositing the composite material around the hexagonal circumference of the mandrel further includes translating the material feed head in a second direction opposing the first direction.
11. A method of manufacturing a composite core for use in a structural assembly, the method comprising:
wrapping a hexagonal mandrel in a mandrel wrapping process comprising:
securing the hexagonal mandrel and a coupling in a winding jig, such that the coupling is located adjacent to a first end of the hexagonal mandrel while sharing a central axis with the hexagonal mandrel, the coupling having the same hexagonal shape and hexagonal circumference as the hexagonal mandrel, the mandrel having a hollow interior extending along a length of the mandrel to provide a fluid passage for heating of the mandrel during a curing process;
orienting a composite material at a wrap angle to the mandrel; and
depositing the composite material around a circumference of the hexagonal mandrel;
assembling a plurality of wrapped mandrels adjacently in a tool; and
applying a pressure to the composite material during a curing cycle.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the composite material is a slit of composite material, the slit having a prescribed width.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of depositing the composite material around the hexagonal circumference of the hexagonal mandrel includes wrapping the slit of composite material at the wrap angle so as to prevent formation of a gap in the slit of composite material as the slit is wrapped around the hexagonal mandrel.
cutting a slit of the composite material to a prescribed width so that the step of depositing the composite material around the circumference of the mandrel produces a helical seam.
15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the step of depositing the composite material around the hexagonal circumference of the hexagonal mandrel includes rotating the hexagonal mandrel on the winding jig while maintaining the wrap angle of the composite material to the hexagonal mandrel.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the step of maintaining the wrap angle of the composite material to the hexagonal mandrel includes translating the winding jig toward a source of the composite material.
17. The method according to claim 11, wherein the step of depositing the composite material around the hexagonal circumference of the hexagonal mandrel includes rotating a material feed head around the hexagonal mandrel.
18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the step of depositing the composite material around the hexagonal circumference of the hexagonal mandrel further includes translating the material feed head in a direction corresponding with the central axis of the hexagonal mandrel.
19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the step of depositing the composite material around the hexagonal circumference of the hexagonal mandrel further includes translating the hexagonal mandrel along the central axis.
US13/782,180 2013-03-01 2013-03-01 System and method of manufacturing composite core Active 2033-06-21 US9145277B2 (en)
US13/782,180 US9145277B2 (en) 2013-03-01 2013-03-01 System and method of manufacturing composite core
EP13171126.9A EP2772344B1 (en) 2013-03-01 2013-06-07 System and method of manufacturing composite core
CA2844136A CA2844136C (en) 2013-03-01 2014-02-26 System and method of manufacturing composite core
CN201410074956.6A CN104015918B (en) 2013-03-01 2014-03-03 Manufacture the system and method for composite core
US20140246142A1 US20140246142A1 (en) 2014-09-04
US9145277B2 true US9145277B2 (en) 2015-09-29
ID=48625806
US13/782,180 Active 2033-06-21 US9145277B2 (en) 2013-03-01 2013-03-01 System and method of manufacturing composite core
US (1) US9145277B2 (en)
EP (1) EP2772344B1 (en)
CN (1) CN104015918B (en)
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Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:ARMSTRONG, LEVI H.;OBERLE, ELIZABETH;KENDRICK, PHILLIP A.;AND OTHERS;SIGNING DATES FROM 20130228 TO 20130301;REEL/FRAME:029905/0704