A pressing tool part for eliminating a flatness defect on a flat semi-finished product provided with a pressing surface facing the flat semi-finished product. The pressing tool includes part half segments separated from each other by a material weakening, which are connected to one another on the one hand to by an elastically bendable bending bridge region of the pressing tool part, and on the other hand to a common actuator in order to elastically deform the pressing surface of the pressing tool part as a function of the flatness defect.

In one aspect, a method of forming a linear panel from a thermoformable fibrous material by a continuous process includes continuously drawing an elongate strip of thermoformable fibrous material through a heating station to heat the material, forming the heated material into a desired panel shape, and continuously drawing the material through a cooling unit in order to cool the material after the material has been formed into the desired panel shape.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method of folding a pouch case of a battery cell, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method of folding a pouch case of a battery cell capable of preventing a meandering in a folding process and reducing non-uniformity of a folding amount by forming a pre-folding line on a pouch wing and folding the pouch wing on the basis of the pre-folding line.

A thermoforming method includes forming a skin comprising a plurality of plies thermoplastic resin and fiber, securing an edge of the skin to a mandrel, heating, via a heating element, the skin to a forming temperature, moving a thermoforming apparatus with respect to the mandrel, rolling at least one roller of the thermoforming apparatus along the skin in a direction away from the clamped edge of the skin in response to the thermoforming apparatus moving with respect to the mandrel, and in response to the at least one roller of the thermoforming apparatus rolling along the skin, compressing the skin between the at least one roller and the mandrel, consolidating the plurality of plies of material, and bending the skin to conform to a shape of the mandrel. The consolidated and formed skin is then cooled and removed from the mandrel.

A shaping method for shaping a stack produced by layering and forming into a flat shape a plurality of sheet-shaped composite materials includes a first shaping step of shaping the stack along a fold line extending along the longitudinal direction of the stack such that a first region and a second region, which are disposed to sandwich the fold line, form a first bending angle, and a second shaping step of shaping along the fold line the stack shaped via the first shaping step such that the first region and the second region form a second bending angle that is smaller than the first bending angle. In the first shaping step and the second shaping step, the stack is shaped in a state wherein the first region is maintained below the softening temperature of the resin material, while the second region is being heated to the softening temperature or higher.

A molding device is includes a mandrel that has an arc-shaped cross section; a roller that has a round-shaped cross section, is movable along a surface of the mandrel, and applies a pressing force to a material to be molded placed on the mandrel; a gripping unit that grips the material to be molded on an outside of the roller with respect to the mandrel and applies a tensile force to the material to be molded; a roller driving unit that moves the roller along the surface of the mandrel; a gripping-unit driving unit that moves the gripping unit. A control unit synchronizes a position of the roller and a position of the gripping unit with each other to control the roller driving unit and the gripping-unit driving unit so that the material to be molded is arranged in a direction perpendicular to a vertical direction of the mandrel.

A thermoforming method includes forming a skin comprising a plurality of plies thermoplastic resin and fiber, securing an edge of the skin to a mandrel, heating, via a heating element, the skin to a forming temperature, moving a thermoforming apparatus with respect to the mandrel, rolling at least one roller of the thermoforming apparatus along the skin in a direction away from the clamped edge of the skin in response to the thermoforming apparatus moving with respect to the mandrel, and in response to the at least one roller of the thermoforming apparatus rolling along the skin, compressing the skin between the at least one roller and the mandrel, consolidating the plurality of plies of material, and bending the skin to conform to a shape of the mandrel. The consolidated and formed skin is then cooled and removed from the mandrel.

A fiber product folding apparatus includes a first dashed-line cutting device used to form a plurality of first dashed lines on a first fiber product. Through control of the rotational speed of the first dashed-line roller, the interval between adjacent first dashed lines is adjusted. A first severing device receives the first fiber product with the first dashed lines by a predetermined length and cuts off the first fiber product. A second dashed-line cutting device is used to form a plurality of second dashed lines on a second fiber product. Through control of the rotational speed of the second dashed-line roller, the interval between adjacent second dashed lines can be adjusted. A second severing device receives the second fiber product that includes the second dashed lines by a predetermined length and cuts off the second fiber product. Finally, the first fiber product and the second fiber product are conducted to pass between a first folding roller and a second folding roller to proceed with folding. Since the dashed line interval of the fiber products is the size or length of a single sheet of fiber product, controlling the rotational speeds of the dashed-line rollers would allow for adjustment such that folding can be performed for multiple forms.

A disclosed sizing roller apparatus for a folding process of a battery cell includes: a table fixing and supporting a battery cell; a base plate disposed on a side of the table; a plurality of sizing rollers disposed on the base plate and each having a rotation axis, which is inclined inward toward a folding portion of the battery cell, to press the folding portion of the battery cell in contact with the folding portion; and a plurality of air spray nozzles disposed on the base plate and spraying air to the plurality of sizing rollers.

A 3D thermoplastic pultrusion system and method based upon a 3D variable die system and including one or more sets of 3D thermoplastic forming machines to continuously produce thermoplastic composite pultrusions with at least one of varying cross-section geometry and constant surface contours, varying cross-section geometry and varying surface contours, and constant cross-section geometry and varying surface contours. The 3D thermoplastic pultrusion system and method including at least one of one or more pairs of shapeable and flexible dual-temperature bands and a rotating assembly that rotates the one or more sets of 3D thermoplastic forming machines to impart a twist to the thermoplastic composite.