A sheet laminator includes a fuser pressure member, a conveyor, and a guide. The fuser pressure member thermally fixes a two-ply sheet and a sheet medium inserted between two sheets of the two-ply sheet. The conveyor conveys the two-ply sheet toward the fuser pressure member in a sheet conveyance direction. The guide guides the two-ply sheet in a sheet conveyance passage between the conveyor and the fuser pressure member. At least one of the fuser pressure member or the conveyor is operable to guide the two-ply sheet outside the sheet conveyance passage in response to an occurrence of an abnormal stop of the sheet laminator.

A method of detecting defects in a composite layup includes capturing, using an infrared camera, reference images of a reference layup being laid up by a reference layup head. The method also includes manually reviewing the reference images for defects, and generating reference defect masks indicating defects in the reference images. The method further includes training, using the reference images and reference defect masks, a neural network, creating a machine learning model that, given a production image as input, outputs a production defect mask indicating the defect location and the defect type of each defect. The method also includes capturing, using an infrared camera, production images of a production layup being laid up by the production layup head, and applying the model to the production images to automatically generate a production defect masks indicating each defect in the production images.

The present disclosure is directed to a position-controlled lamination tool or press that includes an array or plurality of pressure sensors and an array or plurality of heating/cooling elements or components, which may be coupled together, for preventing or reducing laminating film or material bleed out and improving thickness variation performance. The pressure sensors may provide a controller, which is coupled to the lamination tool, with real-time feedback on any thickness variations across a substrate panel and the controller may adjust the temperature output of the heating and cooling elements to locally modify the viscosity of the laminating material in one or more regions of the substrate panel to either decrease or increase the flowability of the laminating material.

A positive-electrode belt-shaped sheet is cut while the positive-electrode belt-shaped sheet and a negative-electrode belt-shaped sheet are continuously sent, a cut positive-electrode sheet laminated on the uncut negative-electrode belt-shaped sheet via a separator layer is sent and clamped, the uncut negative-electrode belt-shaped sheet is cut at a cutting gap between the positive-electrode sheets laminated thereon, so as to form a sheet unit including the positive-electrode sheet and the negative-electrode sheet, a lamination shape of the sheet unit is measured so as to determine good or bad of the lamination shape, the sheet unit is classified based on a good/bad determination result, and the sheet units determined as good products is collectively laminated and pressed so as to obtain a laminated electrode body. Here, the positive-electrode belt-shaped sheet is cut while the positive-electrode belt-shaped sheet is clamped.

In an embodiment, a process for synchronized embossing of an extensible printed film or of a laminate product including an extensible printed film is disclosed. The process includes pre-heating the film; possible coupling of the pre-heated film with a substrate; passage of the film or of the laminate between an engraved embossing cylinder; and a pressing counter-cylinder, in which the extensible film is subjected to a controlled elongation, in the longitudinal direction only, during the pre-heating step, during which the film is in a thermoplastic state, and said controlled elongation is such as to synchronize the decoration printed on the film with the position of the embossing cylinder.

A system for use in fabricating a laminate structure from a plurality of layers of material is provided. The system includes a marker coupled to at least two of the plurality of layers, and a positioning system configured to arrange the plurality of layers in a predetermined layup position based on a position of the markers.

A method of manufacturing a footwear includes the steps of providing a leather base layer and providing a leather attachment layer. The leather base layer and the leather attachment layer are fixed against each other with an intermediate application of adhesive between them. The applied adhesive is activated. The leather base layer and the leather attachment layer are forced against each other under a pressure with the adhesive between them. The adhesive is cured and thereby the leather base layer and the leather attachment layer are bonded to each other. The bonded leather base layer and the leather attachment layer are integrated as part of the footwear.

An automatic lay-up machine includes a head device and a support mechanism. The head device includes a sheet supplying unit that supplies a prepreg sheet including sheet-shaped prepreg and release paper bonded to a surface of the prepreg, a lay-up unit that lays up the prepreg on a receiving surface by pressing the prepreg sheet against the receiving surface, and a sheet take-up unit that takes up the release paper separated from the prepreg. The support mechanism supports the head device and includes a mechanism for moving the head device in a lay-up direction of the prepreg and a width direction of the prepreg sheet. The head device is moved in the width direction while a position of an edge of the prepreg sheet coincides with a lay-up position and an end portion of the prepreg sheet is pressed against the receiving surface.

Disclosed is an integrated bonding station for bonding laminate elements in a selected stack orientation, at least one of the laminate elements including a barcode on a surface thereof, the integrated boding station including a barcode reader assembly may include: a barcode reader; a direct lighting assembly being configured to direct light onto a surface of the at least one laminate element; a low angle lighting assembly being configured to direct light near the surface; and a back lighting assembly being configured to direct light onto an opposing side of the surface. Each of the direct lighting assembly, low angle lighting assembly, and back lighting assembly may be configured to provide light of a selected wavelength and of a selected intensity.

A system for use in fabricating a laminate structure from a plurality of layers of material is provided. The system includes a marker coupled to at least two of the plurality of layers, and a positioning system configured to arrange the plurality of layers in a predetermined layup position based on a position of the markers.