Patent ID: 7691223

Claim:
An apparatus for making fiber reinforced sheet molding compound from a plurality of continuous fiber rovings, the apparatus comprising: a conveyor belt assembly having a feed end and a transfer end and including: a belt having an outer surface and an inner surface, wherein the outer surface is configured to convey the fiber rovings to the transfer end; and a cutting support structure disposed between the feed end and the transfer end, and in contact with the inner surface of the belt; a cutting wheel having a perimeter surface including a plurality of spaced apart cutting blades, configured for rotating about a transverse axis and disposed adjacent to the cutting support structure with the perimeter surface in contact with the outer surface of the belt; and a feed tension member disposed between the feed end and the cutting wheel proximate the outer surface, the feed tension member positions the fiber rovings directly onto the outer surface in a substantially parallel machine direction, wherein the feed tension member, the cutting wheel and the belt cooperate to feed the fiber rovings to the cutting wheel at a feed rate, cut the fibers rovings into a plurality of parallel discontinuous fibers and convey the parallel discontinuous fibers to the transfer end at substantially the same rate as the feed rate.