A system for manufacturing a thermoplastic prepreg includes a double belt mechanism that is configured to compress a fiber mat, web, or mesh that is passed through the double belt mechanism, a resin applicator that is configured to apply monomers or oligomers to the fiber mat, web, or mesh, and a curing oven that is configured to effect polymerization of the monomers or oligomers and thereby form the thermoplastic polymer as the fiber mat, web, or mesh is moved through the curing oven. The double belt mechanism compresses the fiber mat, web, or mesh and the applied monomers or oligomers as the fiber mat, web, or mesh is passed through the curing oven so that the monomers or oligomers fully saturate the fiber mat, web, or mesh. Upon polymerization of the monomers or oligomers, the fiber mat, web, or mesh is fully impregnated with the thermoplastic polymer.

A composite golf club head and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The composite golf club head has a carbon fiber composite body and a striking face. The carbon fiber composite body is formed by multiple carbon fiber prepreg materials or multiple composite prepreg materials including carbon fiber with stacking, a positive pressure, a vacuum negative pressure, and heating. The striking face is made of a carbon fiber composite or metal material, and is fixedly glued to a front opening portion of the carbon fiber composite body. A weight of the carbon fiber composite body is reduced. Center of gravity and moment of inertia can be adjusted easily according to striking distances or feel of striking of different golf club heads for enhancing a striking performance of the composite golf club head.

A heated composite tool, useful for forming, debulking, and/or curing prepreg materials, including a composite build structure having a shape of a composite part that is to be produced, configured to receive and support prepreg materials during lay-up, and including a heating structure physically coupled to the composite build structure, and comprising at least one heating element, including a carbon nanotube structured layer defining a current path having first and second ends and first and second electrical terminals electrically coupled to the first and second ends and a first isolation ply disposed between the composite build structure and the at least one heating element, the first isolation ply forming an electrical insulating gap between the at least one heating element and the composite build structure, wherein the carbon nanotube structured layer is responsive to an electromotive force applied across the first and second electrical terminals to heat the tool.

An FRP material has a circular arc part, and a member fixed to the circular arc part. The FRP forming system has a portion-pressing device, a member positioning mechanism, and a transport device configured to form the FRP material as a single body of a circular arc-shaped FRP part. The FRP material may comprise a single layer prepreg or a plurality of prepregs that have been layered. The portion-pressing device has upper and lower molds sandwiching a portion of the FRP material in a radial direction orthogonal to the circular arc part, and compresses intermittently a portion of the FRP part. The member positioning mechanism locates the position of the member relatively to the upper or lower mold. The transport device moves the portion of the FRP material that is compressed by the portion-pressing device. The portion-pressing and the transport are repeated to form the FRP part.

A system for manufacturing a thermoplastic prepreg product includes a belt or conveyor, a prepreg applicator that positions a thermoplastic prepreg atop the belt or conveyor, a foam applicator that applies a foam mixture atop the thermoplastic prepreg, a heating mechanism that heats the thermoplastic prepreg and the foam mixture to cause the foam mixture to react atop the thermoplastic prepreg, and a laminator that is configured to press the thermoplastic prepreg and foam mixture to control a thickness of the resulting thermoplastic prepreg product. The thermoplastic prepreg includes a fabric, mat, or web of fibers and a thermoplastic material that is impregnated within the fabric, mat, or web of fibers. The thermoplastic material is formed from in situ polymerization of monomers and oligomers. The foam mixture includes an isocyanate, a polyol blend, and a blowing agent.

An object of the present invention is to provide a prepreg and a laminate for producing a laminate suitable as a structural material, which have excellent compressive strength and interlaminar fractural toughness values, and can be firmly integrated with another structural member by welding. The present invention provides a prepreg including the following structural components [A] reinforcing fibers, [B] a thermosetting resin, and [C] a thermoplastic resin, in which [B] has a rubbery state elastic modulus of 10 MPa or more at a temperature obtained by adding 50° C. to a glass transition temperature in a state in which a degree of cure is 90% or more, [C] is present in a surface of the prepreg, and the reinforcing fibers [A] are present, which are included in a resin area including {B] and a resin area including [C] across an interface between the two resin areas.

Disclosed is an automated fiber placement (AFP) device for preform manufacturing. The AFP device includes a feeder configured to feed a sheet-type fiber composite material, a molding part configured to mold a sheet-type structure by allowing a roller member to compress the sheet-type fiber composite material, and a compressing part configured to compress an upper surface of the structure, thereby disposing the sheet-type structure on a substrate in a state of maintaining the shape of the sheet-type structure. Particular, the compressing part moves from one end to the other end of the substrate, thereby compressing the sheet-type structure.

The present disclosure provides an impregnation device for a fiber prepreg, which includes a film layer separation assembly, a hot pressing element, and a thermal barrier element. The hot pressing element is disposed beneath the film layer separation assembly. The thermal barrier element is disposed between the film layer separation assembly and the hot pressing element. The present disclosure also provides an impregnation method for a fiber prepreg.

A method for producing a fiber reinforced plastic can suppress with which wrinkling or bridging in a convex surface or a concave surface having a large curvature at the same time even if the fiber reinforced plastic has a complicated three-dimensional shape. Such methods for producing a fiber reinforced plastic may involve shaping a prepreg sheet in which continuous fibers are impregnated with a resin material into a three-dimensional shape to produce a fiber reinforced plastic (a); wherein at least a portion of the continuous fibers in an area (X) of the prepreg sheet corresponding to an area (X′) in which the fiber reinforced plastic (a) is shear-deformed is bent in an in-plane direction in advance.

A forming device includes: a forming jig extending along an axial direction; a forming die having a shape corresponding to a top part region and a wall part region of the forming jig; and a movement mechanism that moves the forming die so as to approach a bottom part region along a height direction HD. The forming die includes: a body part; a plate-shaped forming part that is attached to the body part so as to be swingable around a swing shaft; and a pressurization part that generates a pressurization force which causes a distal end part of the forming part to push a layered body against the wall part region when the forming die is moved by the movement mechanism so as to approach the bottom part region. In accordance with the distal end part, the part causes a contact surface to contact a region of the layered body.