Methods, apparatuses, and systems for making prepregs are disclosed. A method may include depositing a resin material onto a surface of a fiber bed and forming a number of discrete resin regions thereon. A distance between the resin regions may be measured to provide desired exposed portions of the surface to facilitate permeation of air through the exposed portions of the surface in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the fiber bed during a curing process of the prepreg.

Methods, apparatuses, and systems for making prepregs are disclosed. A method may include depositing a resin material onto a surface of a fiber bed and forming a number of discrete resin regions thereon. A distance between the resin regions may be measured to provide desired exposed portions of the surface to facilitate permeation of air through the exposed portions of the surface in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the fiber bed during a curing process of the prepreg.

Disclosed are reinforced structures. The structures are comprised of reinforced elements that have continuous fibers embedded in a matrix material. The reinforced elements are combined in a matrix material to form a desired shape of reinforced structure.

A preformed material for use in fiber-reinforced composite materials, the preformed material including one or more fiber rovings including parallel fibers wherein the fiber rovings include one or more folds in a direction parallel to the direction of the fibers and wherein the unfolded width of the fiber rovings have a width included in a range from 0.3 mm to 5 mm. The fiber density by volume may be included in a range from 10% to 75% of fibers. The thickness of a fiber roving may be included in a range from 50 μm to 2 mm. The fiber rovings may include from 500 to 12000 fibers. The fiber rovings may include a thermoplastic polymer that forms a first bond within the one or more folds and a second bond between a first fiber roving and a second adjacent fiber roving.

A method of shaping a preform includes: laminating plural dry tape members each including a binder and fiber while partly heat-sealing the dry tape members with the binder to provisionally fasten each dry tape member to an adjacent dry tape member; bending the dry tape members having been provisionally fastened, along a bending line; and heat-sealing the dry tape members having been bent with the binder to manufacture a shaped dry preform. At the laminating, at least one of the followings is satisfied: (i) an amount of heat-sealing with the binder is changed in an area along the bending line, (ii) an amount of heat-sealing with the binder is different between portions adjacent to and on opposite sides of the area along the bending line, or (iii) an amount of heat-sealing with the binder is different between portions adjacent to each other at the bending line as a border.

Techniques for flexible, on-site additive manufacturing of components or portions thereof for transport structures are disclosed. An automated assembly system for a transport structure may include a plurality of automated constructors to assemble the transport structure. In one aspect, the assembly system may span the full vertically integrated production process, from powder production to recycling. At least some of the automated constructors are able to move in an automated fashion between the station under the guidance of a control system. A first of the automated constructors may include a 3-D printer to print at least a portion of a component and to transfer the component to a second one of the automated constructors for installation during the assembly of the transport structure. The automated constructors may also be adapted to perform a variety of different tasks utilizing sensors for enabling machine-learning.

Disclosed herein a method for making a unidirectional continuous fiber-reinforced resin composite material. A resin plasticized and molten by an extruder is transported to a coating guide roller through a die head, and a hot-melt resin film layer with uniform thickness is formed on a roller surface of the coating guide roller. Simultaneously, the coating guide roller guides the hot-melt resin to continuously and uniformly coat on a row of flattened unidirectional continuous fibers along the roller surface of the coating guide roller. Subsequently, the coated flattened unidirectional continuous fibers pass through an open dip-coating roller device to effectively combine with the hot-melt resin to obtain a composite material of the hot-melt resin and fibers, which passes through a cooling and forming device to a winder under a driving force of a main traction to obtain the unidirectional continuous fiber-reinforced resin composite material.

Disclosed herein a method for making a unidirectional continuous fiber-reinforced resin composite material. A resin plasticized and molten by an extruder is transported to a coating guide roller through a die head, and a hot-melt resin film layer with uniform thickness is formed on a roller surface of the coating guide roller. Simultaneously, the coating guide roller guides the hot-melt resin to continuously and uniformly coat on a row of flattened unidirectional continuous fibers along the roller surface of the coating guide roller. Subsequently, the coated flattened unidirectional continuous fibers pass through an open dip-coating roller device to effectively combine with the hot-melt resin to obtain a composite material of the hot-melt resin and fibers, which passes through a cooling and forming device to a winder under a driving force of a main traction to obtain the unidirectional continuous fiber-reinforced resin composite material.

Methods for additive manufacturing using a three-dimensional printer including at least one linear feed mechanism and a print head positioned proximate a build platen are disclosed. The methods include a step of providing and/or feeding an unmelted fiber reinforced composite filament at a feed rate by the at least one linear feed mechanism. The methods include heating the filament to a temperature at which a matrix material therein flows within at least one rounded outlet of the print head. The methods include moving the print head and the build platen relative to one another at a printing rate. The methods include applying a spreading force to the filament between the at least one rounded outlet of the print head and the build platen. The methods include a step of controlling a differential in the feed rate and printing rate using the at least one linear feed mechanism so that the feed rate and the printing rate are substantially the same.

The invention relates to a process for the production of a tape comprising a plurality of sheathed continuous multifilament strands, wherein each of the sheathed continuous multifilament strands comprises a core that extends in the longitudinal direction and a polymer sheath which intimately surrounds said core, wherein each of the cores comprises an impregnated continuous multifilament strand comprising at least one continuous glass multifilament strand, wherein the at least one continuous glass multifilament strand is impregnated with an impregnating agent, wherein the process comprises the steps of: d) providing the plurality of sheathed continuous multifilament strands, e) placing the plurality of sheathed continuous multifilament strands in parallel alignment in the longitudinal direction, f) grouping the plurality of sheathed continuous multifilament strands, wherein steps e) and f) are performed such that the sheathed continuous multifilament strand can be consolidated and g) subsequently consolidating the plurality of sheathed continuous multifilament strands to form the tape, wherein the sheathed continuous multifilament strands are prepared by the sequential steps of a) unwinding from a package the continuous glass multifilament strands, b) applying the impregnating agent to the continuous glass multifilament strands to form the impregnated continuous multifilament strands and c) applying the sheath of the thermoplastic polymer composition around the impregnated continuous multifilament strands to form the sheathed continuous multifilament strands, wherein the sheathed continuous multifilament strands of step d) are the sheathed continuous multifilament strands obtained by step c) and wherein the sheathed continuous multifilament strands of step d) are subjected to step e) without cutting.