Provided herein is a shear web support for wind turbine blade. Particularly, the present disclosure provides a frangible shear web support element that is designed to fail under certain specific conditions. The frangible support(s) enhance the structural rigidity of the shear web, allow for one-step mold closures, and rupture or disconnect once a predetermined condition (e.g. load threshold, load orientation/vector) is applied to the support element.

Methods and apparatus for additive manufactures of complex parts using co-aligned continuous fibers are disclosed. Filament subunits having complex shapes are fabricated and inserted into a mold cavity. The layup is compression molded to form a complex part having high tensile strength.

A chassis member capable of improving manufacturing efficiency is disclosed. The chassis member includes a laminate in which an interlayer is provided between a pair of fiber-reinforced resin plates made of reinforced fiber impregnated with thermoplastic resin. A frame body formed of thermoplastic resin is joined to an edge of the laminate. The edge of the laminate is provided with a thin plate portion thinner than the other portion. The frame body is joined to the thin plate portion.

A fiber reinforced plastic molded body includes a layered body, a resin member, unidirectional fiber reinforced resins each constituted from a unidirectional continuous fiber, a matrix resin, and a woven fabric fiber reinforced resin of one or two or more layers, wherein when the layered body is divided into equal halves in its thickness direction, an amount of the resin member present in a region (R1) which is a side from a dividing center line whereon the woven fabric fiber reinforced resin is layered is referred to as Am1, and an amount of the resin member present in a region (R2) which is a side whereon the woven fabric fiber reinforced resin is not layered is referred to as Am2, Am2/Am1 is 2 to 25.

Proposed are a carbon frame and a method of manufacturing the same capable of improving torsional stiffness. The method includes the steps of: (a) preparing at least two forms; (b) wrapping up the forms with vinyl sheets; (c) laminating carbon prepregs on the vinyl sheets; (d) combining the forms to put the combined forms in a mold; and (e) injecting heat and wind into the vinyl sheets.

An automated manufacturing method and system and in-mold coated plastic article produced thereby are provided. The system includes a compression mold and a plurality of program-controlled manipulators. An automatic sprayer supported on a first manipulator sprays at least a portion of a mold surface with an in-mold coating composition. An end effector supported on a second manipulator picks up a heated blank of moldable plastic sheet material from an oven and places the heated blank between upper and lower mold halves of the mold. An inner portion of the heated blank is forced into an article-defining cavity of the mold and into contact with at least a portion of the in-mold coating composition. The in-mold coating composition and the inner portion of the heated blank cure and bond to one another so as to form the coated plastic article.

An automated manufacturing method and system and in-mold coated plastic article produced thereby are provided. The system includes a combination compression and injection mold and a plurality of program-controlled manipulators. An automatic sprayer supported on a first manipulator sprays at least a portion of a mold surface with an in-mold coating composition. An end effector supported on a second manipulator picks up a heated blank of moldable plastic sheet material from an oven and places the heated blank in the mold. An inner portion of the heated blank is forced into an article-defining cavity of the mold and into contact with at least a portion of the composition. The composition and the inner portion cure and bond to one another and a plastic compatible with the plastic of the sheet is injected into the mold so as to form the coated plastic article.

A panel structure (10A) includes a substrate portion (11) and at least two ribs (12) standing on the substrate portion (11) and intersecting with each other. A substrate material portion (24) constituting the substrate portion (11) is formed by using at least matrix resin. Continuous fibers or slit continuous fibers are arranged at a position corresponding to the ribs (12) and a rib intersecting portion (13).

A method for bending towpreg to yield a desired amount of axial force during bending to form a preform is provided including inserting towpreg into a bending die, applying an initial axial force to the towpreg, and moving the gripped end of the towpreg in an involute path using a cam, a cam follower and a gripper, the gripper disposed on the cam follower. Axial force between the gripped end and the stationary end of the towpreg from a point where the towpreg contacts a surface of the bending die is applied tangent to the surface of the bending die while bending the towpreg. An apparatus for bending towpreg to form a preform is provided including bending dies disposed in fixed positions, and a follower. Axial involute cam mechanism having a drive shaft, a cam, a cam follower that follows an involute path around the cam, a gripper and a clamp.

This utility invention is to replace some of the parts of current vehicles and robotic machines with intelligent graphene-based fibers and nanocomposites to achieve significantly weight-decreasing and energy-savings. This invention also is related to the formation of new generation vehicles, machine parts including robotics, which include but not limited to all kinds of cars, trailers, trucks, vehicles on roads and in the sky, ships on the ocean, and intelligent robotics for Human, as well as computer parts, bicycles, and sports supplies.