A method is provided for manufacturing a composite body. A first longitudinal portion of a continuous length of prepreg material is shaped using a first die of a compression molding tool to provide a shaped first longitudinal portion of the continuous length of prepreg material. The shaped first longitudinal portion is consolidated using the compression molding tool to provide a first portion of the composite body. The first portion of the composite body is moved out of the compression molding tool. The first die is swapped for a replacement first die. A second longitudinal portion of the continuous length of prepreg material is shaped using the replacement first die of the compression molding tool to provide a shaped second longitudinal portion of the continuous length of prepreg material. The shaped second longitudinal portion is consolidated using the compression molding tool to provide a second portion of the composite body.

A composite shaping apparatus includes at least one first roller that loads a prepreg with pressure, at least one second roller that loads the prepreg with pressure, and at least one motor that rotates at least one of the first roller or the second roller. The at least one first roller and the at least one second roller are rotated while at least one of rotation speed, roller diameter, or presence/absence of rotating power is made different between at least one of the first roller and at least one of the second roller.

A method of making a surgical suture having a reformed tip includes providing an elongated fiber having a first end, a second end, a central axis extending between the first and second ends thereof, and an outer surface that defines a cross-sectional dimension of the elongated fiber, and compressing a center region of the elongated fiber that is located between the first and second ends thereof for reshaping the center region into a core mass and a deformed mass that extends laterally outside the cross-sectional dimension of said elongated fiber. The method includes separating the deformed mass of the center region from the core mass of the center region so that only the core mass remains for interconnecting the first and second ends of the elongated fiber, and after separating the deformed mass from the core mass, reshaping the core mass into a reformed mass having a reformed mass central axis that is offset from the central axis of the elongated fiber.

A method for producing anchor rods from a fiber composite material includes a solidifying step during which a strand of a curable matrix material with embedded fibers is conveyed to an irradiation device and solidified by an irradiation with light. In a subsequent curing step, the solidified strand is conveyed to an annealing device and is cured by heating to an annealing temperature. A portion of the cured strand forms an anchor rod. The strand is continuously conveyed past or into the irradiation device in a depression of a circulating conveyor belt. The depression of the conveyor belt comprises profiled inner wall regions, via which, during the solidifying step, a surface profiling of the strand conveyed therein is effected. The conveyor belt consists of a light-permeable material, so that multiple illumination devices can illuminate the strand conveyed on the conveyor belt from various directions.

A roller assembly for forming adjacent curved surfaces in a composite gap filler member includes a first roller supported by a first support member wherein the first roller rotates relative to the first support member about a first axis of rotation. A second roller is supported by a second support member wherein the second roller rotates relative to the second support member about a second axis of rotation. First support member is rotatable about a third axis of rotation and the third axis of rotation extends in a direction transverse to the first axis of rotation. Second support member is rotatable about a fourth axis of rotation. The fourth axis of rotation extends in a direction transverse to the second axis of rotation.

Roller assembly for forming adjacent curved surfaces in a composite gap filler member includes a first roller supported by a first support member, a second roller supported by a second support member and a support including a surface. First roller and the second roller are in contact with one another and in contact with the surface. With rotation of the first roller about a third axis and with at least one of the first roller or second roller moved relative to the other such that the first roller maintains contact with the second roller and the first roller and the second roller maintain contact with the surface, such that the first roller, second roller and the surface form an aperture having a first curved side having a first radius adjacent to a second curved side having a second radius wherein the first radius and second radius are unequal.

An extendible mast (1) for deploying equipment comprises a composite member formed from plural fibre reinforced layers (75) laminated together in a matrix material in the form of a shell that is constructed and arranged so as to be configurable between a coiled form and an extended form. When extended the member is resiliently biased in the form of an elongate tube having a slit along its length formed by longitudinal edges of the member. One or more electrical conductors (50) extend along at least part of the longitudinal extent of the member for making connection to the equipment. The conductors are integrated between two or more layers within the laminate.

A composite shaping apparatus includes at least one first roller that loads a prepreg with pressure, at least one second roller that loads the prepreg with pressure, and at least one motor that rotates at least one of the first roller or the second roller. The at least one first roller and the at least one second roller are rotated while at least one of rotation speed, roller diameter, or presence/absence of rotating power is made different between at least one of the first roller and at least one of the second roller.

Methods for fabricating fiber-composite truss structures comprise a) individually molding multiple unit cells of a given size, and subsequently fusing them together in a repeating pattern, b) cross members are consolidated with longerons while maintaining continuity of fiber in the longerons, and c) compression-molded truss components are unioned to continuous fiber beams by means of mechanically interlocking joints.

A method is provided for manufacturing a composite body. A first longitudinal portion of a continuous length of prepreg material is shaped using a first die of a compression molding tool to provide a shaped first longitudinal portion of the continuous length of prepreg material. The shaped first longitudinal portion is consolidated using the compression molding tool to provide a first portion of the composite body. The first portion of the composite body is moved out of the compression molding tool. The first die is swapped for a replacement first die. A second longitudinal portion of the continuous length of prepreg material is shaped using the replacement first die of the compression molding tool to provide a shaped second longitudinal portion of the continuous length of prepreg material. The shaped second longitudinal portion is consolidated using the compression molding tool to provide a second portion of the composite body.