Disclosed is a method for stiffening plates for ship walls. At least one elongate profile member of laminated composite material and having a transverse cross-section of a predetermined shape over the length thereof is pre-manufactured, the profile member being rigid. Then, a panel including laminated composite materials at least on the surface of at least one of the two main surfaces thereof is used, and the at least one pre-manufactured profile member is assembled and attached together onto one of the main surfaces of the panel. The main surface of the panel receives the profile member including laminated composite material. The profile member has a transverse cross-section with three continuous portions: two flanges having substantially straight cross-sections and interconnected by a web. The flanges and the web in transverse cross-section are supported by separate planes, the plane of the web intersecting the two planes, supporting the flanges, at 90.

In exemplary implementations of this invention, a nozzle sprays foam, layer by layer, to fabricate a fabricated object according to a CAD model, and a subtractive fabrication tool removes material from the fabricated object according to a CAD model. The fabricated object comprises a mold or an interior form. The foam may be low-density, high strength and fast-curing. The foam may be used for large-scale 3D printing. For example, the foam may be used to 3D print molds for walls of homes. The foam molds may be left in place, after casting concrete in the molds, to serve as insulation. Or for example, the foam may be used to 3D print on site an internal form for a large wind turbine blade. The wind turbine blade may then be produced on site by depositing fiberglass on the outside of the internal form.

A method of producing a plate-like construction having a double-wall structure and its use. According to the present invention, several elongated profiles which have essentially straight central axes are arranged against each other in such a way that adjacent hollow profiles abut each other and together form, in general terms, a flat stack having two opposite sides. The hollow profiles are welded together in order to join them with welded seams, in which case the welding is essentially carried out simultaneously from both sides of the stack. Besides good flexural strength and the opportunity to recycle, thermoplastic plates which are produced by means of the present method exhibit resistance to corrosion, decay and mould.

The method (10) of molding a composite component comprises: a step (105) of positioning a layer of geotextile on a mold so that a lower surface of the layer of geotextile is positioned against the mold, a first step (110) of coating an upper surface of the layer of geotextile positioned during the positioning step with a biodegradable resin, a step (115) of bonding a layer of fibers, having a higher rigidity than the layer of geotextile, against the coated layer of geotextile, and a second step (120) of coating an upper surface of the layer of fibers with a biodegradable resin.

In a method for producing a hull wall of a fiber composite sandwich component, shaped bodies of extruded polystyrene hard foam are enveloped with an envelope of fiber composite material with fibers oriented at least bidirectionally. The enveloped shaped bodies have a shape for forming a hull wall and are placed next to each other in a vacuum injection structure on a lower cover layer of fiber composite material. An upper cover layer of fiber composite material is placed on top of the enveloped shaped bodies and the vacuum injection structure is sealed. Matrix material is introduced and distributed in the vacuum injection structure until the fiber composite material of the envelopes and of the upper and lower cover layers is impregnated completely with the matrix material. The matrix material is cured and the fiber composite sandwich component of the hull wall is removed from the vacuum injection structure.

In at least some embodiments, the invention is directed to a watercraft that includes a buoyant core, an upper shell bonded to the core and a lower shell bonded to the core, wherein at least one of the upper shell and the lower shell includes a plurality of bonded shell material layers, and wherein the plurality of shell material layers include a polycarbonate-based material layer and an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene-based material layer.

In at least some embodiments, the invention is directed to a watercraft that includes a buoyant core, an upper shell bonded to the core and a lower shell bonded to the core, wherein at least one of the upper shell and the lower shell includes a plurality of bonded shell material layers, and wherein the plurality of shell material layers include a polycarbonate-based material layer and an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene-based material layer.

The invention relates to a method for preparing a fiber-reinforced article, having attached to at least part of its surface a layer of a material that is not fiber-reinforced, comprising the steps of 1) preparing a shell via an additive manufacturing technique, the shell being of a material that is not fiber-reinforced; and having a surface that corresponds in negative relief to a surface of the article formed in step 3); thereafter 10 2) applying long and/or continuous reinforcement fibers; and a curable resin to the surface of the shell that is in negative relief, to form a mixture of curable resin and long and/or continuous reinforcement fibers on the 1 surface of the shell, so that the surface of the mixture contacting the shell adopts the shape of the surface of the shell that is in negative relief; thereafter 3) curing the curable resin to form the fiber-reinforced article having attached to at least part of its surface a layer of a material that is not 20 fiber-reinforced.

Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media for manufacturing a boat part made of a fiberglass, the fiberglass including a resin and a glass, using a mold and according to a specification that defines a desired quantity of the fiberglass to apply to the mold. In one embodiment, a system includes an applicator configured to apply the fiberglass to the mold, a resin transporter configured to supply the resin to the applicator, and a glass transporter configured to supply the glass to the applicator. A control module is configured to make a comparison in real-time between an actual quantity of the fiberglass applied by the applicator and the desired quantity of the fiberglass to apply to the mold, and to calculate a remaining quantity of the fiberglass to apply to the mold to thereby achieve the desired quantity. The control module is configured to cause an indicator device to indicate in real-time the remaining quantity of the fiberglass to apply to the mold.

There is provided a laminating system (30) comprising a laminating module (200) and a transportation module (100) wherein the transportation module (100) is arranged to automatically drive the laminating module (200) over a surface (10) to be laminated. Here the surface (10) to be laminated is large and maintained substantially stationary. The transportation module (100) includes a retaining means and a drive means. The retaining means resists movement of the laminating module (200) relative to the surface (10) except when the laminating module is driven by the drive means. The laminating module (200) includes an unwind unit (210) adapted to receive a roll of laminate (20). The laminate (20) comprises an adhesive film and first release layer. The unwind unit (210) is adapted to allow the laminate to be unwound from the roll. A first release layer discard unit is provided. The first release layer discard unit is adapted to remove the first release layer from the laminate. The laminating module (200) includes a first pressing unit (240). The first pressing unit (240) is adapted to press the film onto the surface (10). Here, the retaining means is adapted to resist a pressing force applied by the first pressing unit (240) and acting to move the laminating module (200) away from the surface. As the transportation module (100) automatically drives the laminating module (200) over the surface, the pressing unit (240) presses the film to the surface.