A thermoforming method includes heating a thermoplastic panel to a forming temperature, and compressing the thermoplastic panel between a first tool and a second tool, wherein the thermoplastic panel is bent about a first axis extending along a first direction with respect to the thermoplastic panel in response to being compressed between the first tool and the second tool. The thermoplastic panel may then be cooled to a hardened temperature and disposed between a third tool and a fourth tool. The method further includes heating the thermoplastic panel to the forming temperature, and compressing the thermoplastic panel between the third tool and the fourth tool, wherein the thermoplastic panel is bent about a second axis extending along a second direction with respect to the thermoplastic panel in response to being compressed between the third tool and the fourth tool.

An apparatus including a co-extrusion device for extruding a multi-layer structure having at least one primary layer and at least one secondary layer, so that the multi-layer structure leaves the co-extrusion device along an exit direction; a mould provided with a pair of elements, at least one of the elements being movable towards the other in a moulding direction, so as to compression mould an object from a multi-layer dose which was severed from the multi-layer structure; a transport device for carrying the dose towards the mould; an arrangement for modifying orientation of the dose while the dose is being transported by the transport device, so that the dose is introduced into the mould with an orientation in which the secondary layer extends transversely to the moulding direction.

An apparatus for manufacturing a thermoplastic resin material, including: a mold for molding a base material containing a thermoplastic resin into a predetermined shape; and a transfer mechanism that places the base material in the mold, wherein the transfer mechanism includes a detection mechanism that detects a state of the base material, and a controlling unit that controls operation of the mold and the transfer mechanism.

To provide a method of manufacturing a press molding by molding a molding material comprising reinforced fibers and a thermoplastic resin by a cold press method. The method of manufacturing a press molding comprising reinforced fibers and a thermoplastic resin, includes the steps of: holding the molding material heated at a temperature not lower than the softening temperature with a plurality of grippers installed on a carrier; carrying the molding material between the upper mold and the lower mold of a mold for molding; pushing the molding material with pushers to preform it at a predetermined preforming rate; and press molding the preformed molding by closing the upper mold and the lower mold and applying pressure.

A method for producing carbon fiber reinforced resin molded article of the present invention includes press-molding a mixture-made body including carbon fiber and thermoplastic resin to produce the article that is composed of MR

The method further includes perforating pores into the mixture-made body, before press-molding mentioned above.

As, in perforating, at least the pores are formed so as to penetrate through a hardened part of a surface of the mixture-made body, the article made of the CFRP that does riot have poor appearance, such as whitening or marble pattern, can be produced.

A system for fabricating composite parts efficiently. Pre-impregnated (prepreg) composite material is drawn as a sheet from a roll and fed by advancement rollers into a stamping and molding station in which a piece of the prepreg material is cut, on a mold, from the sheet. Pressure is applied to cause the prepreg material to conform to a surface of the mold, and the prepreg is cured with ultraviolet light. Additional layers of prepreg may be cut and cured on any layers that have already been cured on the mold. The complete part may be removed from the mold with ejector pins. Scrap prepreg may be recycled in a recycling station that separates reinforcing fiber from uncured resin.

A method for producing a fiber-reinforced resin molded body, including heating a fiber-reinforced resin molded body precursor containing thermoplastic resin as matrix resin to soften it and molding it in a molding die, where temperature unevenness between the inside and surface of the fiber-reinforced resin molded body precursor can be reduced. The method includes a first step of storing a fiber-reinforced resin molded body precursor containing thermoplastic resin as the matrix resin and containing conductive fibrous materials therein into a heating furnace with heating apparatuses while holding the precursor using a pair of holding tools, which also function as electrodes, and then actuating the heating apparatuses while supplying current to the precursor from the electrodes, thereby softening the precursor; and a second step of transferring the softened precursor to a molding die using the holding tools, and molding a fiber-reinforced resin molded body in the molding die.

A composite laminate structure includes a cellular core and a first laminate layer coupled to the cellular core. The first laminate layer includes a first thermoplastic layer and a first fiber-reinforced polymer layer, where a first surface of the first fiber-reinforced polymer layer is thermally consolidated to a second surface of the first thermoplastic layer. A first surface of the first thermoplastic layer is directly in contact with and bound to a first surface of the cellular core by temperature reduction of the first thermoplastic layer below a glass transition temperature of the first thermoplastic layer while the cellular core is pressed against the first thermoplastic layer when the first thermoplastic layer is above the glass transition temperature of the first thermoplastic layer and the cellular core is below a temperature where materials of the cellular core flow or degrade.

An apparatus and method for manufacturing fiber composite parts from a raw fiber tow to a finished composite part in a single continuous process are provided. The apparatus includes a continuous tow, a preheater/spreader to receive and spread the tow, an injection molding die downstream from the preheater/spreader to form an extrudate filament, a cooler downstream from the injection molding die, a forming die downstream from the cooler to pultrude and shape the cross-section of the extrudate filament, a preformer downstream from the forming die to heat and cut the extrudate filament to create preforms, a compression mold downstream from the preformer to form a finished fiber composite part, and a pick-and-place system to continuously pick each preform from the preformer and place each preform into the compression mold.

A method of forming a fiber-reinforced molding compound. The method includes establishing a melt stream of a source material including a first polymeric material having a first melt temperature in an extruder and dosing a composite material into the melt stream. The composite material includes pre-impregnated reinforcing fibers comprising reinforcing filaments and a second polymeric material having a second melt temperature greater than the first melt temperature. The composite material has at least 30% of the reinforcing filaments protected by the polymeric material such that the polymeric material surrounds each filament completely forming a barrier between it and an adjacent filament in the at least 30% of the filaments. The temperature of the melt stream at dosing is below the second melt temperature. The method includes forming a molding compound from the source and composite materials. The method includes dispensing the molding compound to produce a part.