The present application discloses a method of making a preform for use in manufacturing a component made of a composite material. The method includes stitching fibers onto a film to form a fiber bed in a two-dimensional shape, removing the film from the fiber bed, and adjusting the fiber bed into a three-dimensional shape to form the preform.

A preform is obtained by stacking two or more prepreg cut materials, each of which is obtained by cutting a sheet-like prepreg into an outline of a predetermined shape, and the sheet-like prepreg being formed of a matrix resin and reinforcing fibers aligned in one direction. This preform is characterized in that at least one prepreg cut material has first incisions that are regularly distributed throughout the whole in-plane region and a second incision that is longer than the first incision while being provided only in a predetermined specific region.

A preform is obtained by stacking two or more prepreg cut materials, each of which is obtained by cutting a sheet-like prepreg into an outline of a predetermined shape, and the sheet-like prepreg being formed of a matrix resin and reinforcing fibers aligned in one direction. This preform is characterized in that at least one prepreg cut material has first incisions that are regularly distributed throughout the whole in-plane region and a second incision that is longer than the first incision while being provided only in a predetermined specific region.

A dry tape material for fiber placement includes a plurality of reinforcing fiber strands that satisfy (i) to (iii): (i) the reinforcing fiber strand has thicknesses T1 and T3 at both ends in a width direction of a section of the reinforcing fiber strand, and both T1 and T3 are 50 to 200% relative to a thickness T2 at a central portion of the reinforcing fiber strand, (ii) the reinforcing fiber strand has a number of filaments N and a width W that satisfy a relationship of 4.8<N/W<12, and (iii) the reinforcing fiber strand has a form kept by a first resin material having a glass transition temperature Tg or a melting point Tm of 40° C. to 200° C., the first resin material being heat-meltable, wherein the plurality of reinforcing fiber strands are bound and integrated with each other by a second resin material.

A dry tape material for fiber placement includes a plurality of reinforcing fiber strands that satisfy (i) to (iii): (i) the reinforcing fiber strand has thicknesses T1 and T3 at both ends in a width direction of a section of the reinforcing fiber strand, and both T1 and T3 are 50 to 200% relative to a thickness T2 at a central portion of the reinforcing fiber strand, (ii) the reinforcing fiber strand has a number of filaments N and a width W that satisfy a relationship of 4.8<N/W<12, and (iii) the reinforcing fiber strand has a form kept by a first resin material having a glass transition temperature Tg or a melting point Tm of 40° C. to 200° C., the first resin material being heat-meltable, wherein the plurality of reinforcing fiber strands are bound and integrated with each other by a second resin material.

A composite material structure body production method includes a layering step of layering a plurality of fiber sheets to form a layered body having a deforming portion extending in one direction, and a forming step of performing bend-forming along a deforming line contained in the deforming portion and extending in the one direction, thereby causing the deforming portion to deform. The layering step produces the layered body in such a manner that the shape of the deforming portion is a shape wherein: the cross-section shape in the one direction and the cross-section shape in an intersecting direction that intersects with the one direction are bent or curved; and the length in the intersecting direction changes along the one direction.

A method and apparatus for the continuous fabrication of fiber-bundle-based and composite-tape based preforms and preform charges includes a mandrel about which a constituent material, which is maintained under tension, is wound. The tension is insufficient to fully consolidate the wound material.

A method for manufacturing of a pre-form part for a wind turbine blade including one or more components and an adhesive, wherein the component or at least one of the components is a mat-like component including fibres, includes the steps: arranging the adhesive at one or more positions on the component or arranging the components in a stack, wherein the adhesive is arranged at one or more positions between the components, and heating the adhesive by providing an electric current to at least one actively heated layer, wherein the mat-like component is used as actively heated layer and/or wherein at least one additional mat-like heating means provided and arranged on top of or below the component or the stack of components is used as actively heated layer.

A method for manufacturing of a pre-form part for a wind turbine blade including one or more components and an adhesive, wherein the component or at least one of the components is a mat-like component including fibres, includes the steps: arranging the adhesive at one or more positions on the component or arranging the components in a stack, wherein the adhesive is arranged at one or more positions between the components, and heating the adhesive by providing an electric current to at least one actively heated layer, wherein the mat-like component is used as actively heated layer and/or wherein at least one additional mat-like heating means provided and arranged on top of or below the component or the stack of components is used as actively heated layer.

Systems and methods are provided for shaping flat charges. One embodiment is a forming system for shaping a flat charge. The forming system includes female dies that are elongate and are configured to hold the flat charge, and a male die that is elongate and is configured to press into the flat charge between the female dies to form the flat charge while the flat charge is supported, the male die includes notches that extend along a length of the male die and are dimensioned to retain gap fillers of the flat charge at widthwise locations of the flat charge corresponding to corners at the female dies while the flat charge is formed.