Patent ID: 7879177

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a composite structure comprising: a. Dispensing a first layer of composite material from either a first supply roll or a second supply roll, the first supply roll and the second supply roll mounted to a common pivot that is perpendicular to the axes of both the first supply roll and the second supply rolls and which can be rotated about the common pivot to bring either the first supply roll or the second supply roll into position to dispense the composite material; b. Trimming an outer contour of the first layer of composite material in two dimensions while the first layer of composite material is in continuous linear motion across a trim table; c. Positioning the first layer of composite material on a surface; d. Dispensing a second layer of composite material from either the first supply roll or the second supply roll, the first supply roll and the second supply roll mounted to a common pivot that is perpendicular to the axes of both the first supply roll and the second supply rolls and which can be rotated about the common pivot to bring either the first supply roll or the second supply roll into position to dispense the composite material; e. Trimming an outer contour of the second layer of composite material in two dimensions while the second layer of composite material is in continuous linear motion across a trim table; f. Positioning the second layer of composite material on the first layer of composite material in the proper position relative to the first layer; g. Repeating steps d through f for subsequent layers of composite material to form a stack, until all the required layers of composite material are present and correctly aligned with one another to form a composite preform.