Patent ID: 8763665

Claim:
An apparatus for laminating a fabric material to a part, the apparatus comprising: a plurality of pinch roller pairs configured to prevent wrinkling of the fabric material before the fabric material is applied to the part, wherein the fabric material is generally planar while it is in contact with any single pinch roller pair, the pinch roller pairs including a set of left pinch roller pairs comprising a plurality of left pinch roller pairs positioned on one side of a lateral center line of the fabric material, the left pinch roller pairs including a first left pinch roller pair positioned adjacent to the center line with each successive left pinch roller pair positioned downstream and laterally outward from the previous left pinch roller pair, and a set of right pinch roller pairs comprising a plurality of right pinch roller pairs positioned on the opposing side of the center line, the right pinch roller pairs including a first right pinch roller pair positioned adjacent to the center line with each successive right pinch roller pair positioned downstream and laterally outward from the previous right pinch roller pair; and at least one compaction roller configured to receive the fabric material from the pinch roller pairs and to press the fabric material against a surface of the part.