An assembly to manufacture a roll of prepreg material. The assembly includes a moving system for picking a sheet of prepreg material from a stack of sheets and moving the sheet along a feed path. An alignment system aligns a leading edge of the sheets with a trailing edge of a roll of the prepreg material. A welding system connects the sheet to the roll.

An assembly to connect together first and second sheet members. The assembly includes a pressure device that applies pressure to the sheet members while the sheet members are in an overlapping arrangement and positioned on a support platform. A sensing system that includes one or more thin film pressure sensors detects the positions of the leading and trailing edges. A connection device connects the members together in an overlapping arrangement.

The present invention includes a first weight scale that senses first information necessary when acquiring the residual amount of a first composite material sheet wound on a first support rod; a second weight scale that senses second information necessary when acquiring the residual amount of a second composite material sheet wound on a second support rod; a first cutting part for cutting the first composite material sheet; a second cutting part for cutting the second composite material sheet; a pressure-bonding mechanism that pressure-bonds the first composite material sheet and the second composite material sheet; and a control device that controls the first cutting part, the second cutting part, and the pressure-bonding mechanism.

Provided is a sheet supply device capable of reliably joining sheets by accurately transmitting force for joining the sheets. A joining mechanism includes a pressing roller that presses a sheet of a supply side roll against the outer peripheral surface of a standby side roll; and a moving unit that supports the pressing roller such that the pressing roller is configured to approach and move away from the standby side roll supported by a support shaft disposed at a splice position in the radial direction of the standby side roll. The moving unit supports the pressing roller such that the center of the pressing roller is movable on a straight line passing through the center of a rotation shaft and the center of the support shaft disposed at the splice position.

A device for splicing and continuously providing an outgoing film web includes a splicing unit for splicing a first or a second incoming film web to the outgoing film web, and a clamping unit and an intermediate film storage for the outgoing film web.

The splicing unit includes a first sealing jaw with a first holding device for the outgoing film web, and a first cutting device for severing the outgoing film web in the region of the first sealing jaw. The splicing unit includes a second sealing jaw with a second holding device alternately for the first or the second incoming film web, and a second cutting device for severing this incoming film web. The sealing jaws with their respective holding devices can be displaced relative to one another out of the region of action of their first and second cutting devices into their mutual region of action.

The invention provides a device for connecting together two flat tubular sheaths, the device including: a blocker (22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) for blocking one end of a first sheath, the blocker having means for opening an end of the first sheath; an adhesive-applicator system for applying adhesive to the inside of the open end of the sheath; the blocker being arranged to authorize closure of the end of the first sheath, once adhesive has been applied thereto, on an end of the second sheath. The invention also provides a corresponding roll of adhesive and a corresponding connection method.

An apparatus, and a related method, for unwinding reels and for joining a ply between two reels including a first unwinder adapted to unwind a first reel, a second unwinder adapted to unwind a second reel, a joining device adapted to join a first ply belonging to the first reel with a second ply belonging to the second reel, the joining device including a first pulling bar is able to pull a flap of the first ply along a joining path with the second ply, a second pulling bar is adapted to pull a flap of the second ply along a joining path with the first ply, joining means configured to join, in a joining point along the joining path, the flap of the first ply with the second ply or the flap of the second ply with the first ply, first cutting means configured to cut the first ply or the second ply upstream of the joining point where the joint is performed between the first ply and the second ply, and second cutting means configured to cut the flap of the first ply or the flap of the second ply downstream of the joining point.

An assembly to manufacture a roll of prepreg material. The assembly includes a moving system for picking a sheet of prepreg material from a stack of sheets and moving the sheet along a feed path. An alignment system aligns a leading edge of the sheets with a trailing edge of a roll of the prepreg material. A welding system connects the sheet to the roll.

A sheet supply method includes an unwinding step of supplying a sheet to a downstream location at a predetermined conveyance speed and a joining step of joining the sheet from a first roll to the sheet of a second roll and cutting the sheet from the first roll at an upstream position of a joining section. In the joining step, the running speed of the sheet run from the first roll is made lower than the predetermined conveyance speed in the unwinding step, and different from a supply speed of the sheet from a supply part in the joining step. An accumulating mechanism decelerates or accelerates the sheet running to counterbalance an excess or a deficiency of the sheet which is caused by a speed difference between the running speed and the supply speed.

An assembly to connect together first and second sheet members. The assembly includes a pressure device that applies pressure to the sheet members while the sheet members are in an overlapping arrangement and positioned on a support platform. A sensing system that includes one or more thin film pressure sensors detects the positions of the leading and trailing edges. A connection device connects the members together in an overlapping arrangement.