Patent ID: 7206665

Claim:
A fabric and tape laying machine operable with: (a) a mold, plug or mandrel of predetermined surface shape relative to x, y and z coordinates, (b) a supply roll containing a continuous strip of composite tape or fabric, and (c) a robot including programmable control means comprising: a. a chassis mountable to said robot and movable by said robot for laying said tape or fabric onto said mold along a programmed path that is straight with respect to said x and y coordinates and follows contours of said predetermined surface shape with respect to said z coordinate, b. means on said chassis for supporting said supply roll, c. a contact roller module mounted on said chassis and spaced apart and downstream from said supply roll and adapted to receive said tape from said supply roll, said contact roller module being carried by said chassis as said chassis is moved along said programmed path, d. a tape cutting unit carried by said chassis and situated between said supply roll and said contact roller module, e. a first set of feed rollers downstream of said supply roll and upstream of said tape cutting unit, and a second set of feed rollers downstream of said tape cutting unit and upstream of said contact roller module for driving said tape from said supply roll and maintaining said tape taut while it passes through said tape cutting unit, and driving said tape to said contact roller module, said tape extending from said supply roll to said tape-cutting unit having opposite generally parallel side edges, f. said tape-cutting unit comprising at least one cutter to cut a predetermined profile along one of said opposite sides of said tape as said tape is moving through said tape-cutting unit and to cut said tape transversely to have a predetermined length when it covers a predetermined surface area of said mold, g. said contact roller module comprising at least one modular frame, a set of three pressure contact rollers carried by said at least one said frame, namely a center roller and two side rollers in end-to-end relationships, said at least one set of pressure contact rollers adapted to have said tape received from said tape-cutting unit pass around said pressure contact rollers and be laid onto said mold, and where each of said side rollers has its central axis angularly displaceable relative to the central axis of said central roller, and h. a suspension system for dynamically energizing said contact roller module to have its rollers apply a predetermined level of force downward on said tape during the lay-up process regardless of any varying contours on said mold surface.