MANUFACTURING METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTURING A CONTINUOUS FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE PART

Abstract

To achieve a composite material part with a fully load adapted 3D fiber reinforcement with low costs for tools and process, a method is provided for manufacturing a part made of composite material with a continuous fiber reinforcement. The method comprises the steps of providing a body with tubular cavities and having at least one first portion made from a first polymer material and at least one second portion made from a second polymer material, introducing resin and continuous fibers into the tubular cavities, and removing at least a part of the second polymer material.

Claims

1-8. (canceled)

9. A manufacturing method for manufacturing a part made of composite material with a continuous fiber reinforcement, the method comprising the steps: a) providing a body with tubular cavities and having at least one first portion made from a first polymer material and at least one second portion made from a second polymer material; b) introducing resin and continuous fibers into the tubular cavities; and c) at least partially removing the second polymer material; wherein step a) comprises: a1) selecting the second polymer material from materials that are soluble in a solvent and the first polymer material from polymer materials that are non-soluble in the solvent; and wherein step c) comprises: c1) dissolving the second polymer material in the solvent.

10. The manufacturing method according to claim 9, wherein step a) comprises at least one of the following steps: a2) additive layer manufacturing of the body; a3) forming the body with first portions defining open ends of the tubular cavities; a4) forming the body with first portions defining curvature portions of the tubular cavities; a5) forming the body with first portions defining junction areas of the continuous fiber reinforcement; a6) forming the body with the at least one second portion defining middle sections of the tubular cavities; a7) forming the body with the at least one second portion defining straight sections of the tubular cavities; a8) forming the body with a larger amount of second material and a smaller amount of first material; a9) forming the body with several first portions spaced apart from each other and connected by at least one second portion; a10) forming the body such that the at least one tubular cavity subsequently passes through the at least one first portion and the at least one second portion; a11) at least one of adding or connecting a metallic member to the body such that the metallic member has openings in alignment with open ends of the tubular cavities.

11. The manufacturing method according to claim 9, wherein step b) comprises at least one or several of the following steps: b1) introducing resin in a liquid state and a continuous fiber bundle simultaneously, b2) introducing a continuous fiber bundle within said at least one tubular cavity exerting on the continuous fibers a viscous drag force by means of a pressurized fluid or the resin, applying pressure differential; b3) introducing a continuous fiber bundle within said at least one tubular cavity exerting a mechanical pushing force on the bundle of continuous fibers; b4) introducing the resin and the continuous fibers sequentially, especially first the continuous fibers and subsequently the resin in a liquid state; b5) introducing reinforcing fibers; b6) introducing functional fibers; b7) introducing glass fibers for forming at least one of a thermal or strain gauge; b8) introducing ceramic fibers for forming at least one actuator; b9) curing the resin after introducing the resin and continuous fibers into the tubular cavities.

12. The manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the reinforcing fibers comprise carbon fibers.

13. The manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the reinforcing fibers comprise a carbon fiber bundle.

14. The manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the functional fibers comprise glass fibers.

15. The manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the functional fibers comprise ceramic fibers.

16. The manufacturing method according to claim 9, wherein step c) comprises at least one or several of the following steps: c2) removing the at least one second portion; c3) removing all the second polymer material from the body; c4) removing a connecting section or connection sections of the body connecting at least two of the first portions so that the first portions are spaced apart from each other.

17. A composite material part, obtained by a manufacturing method according to claim 9.

18. The composite material part according to claim 17, formed as a reinforcement fiber truss structure.

19. A manufacturing system for manufacturing a part made of composite material with a continuous fiber reinforcement, comprising: an additive layer manufacturing device for additive layer manufacturing a body having at least a first portion from a first material and a second portion from a second material, wherein the second material is soluble in a solvent and the first material is non-soluble in the solvent, and at least one tubular cavity passing through the first and second portions; a resin and fiber introduction device configured to introduce resin and continuous fibers into the at least one tubular cavity; and a dissolving device configured to dissolve the second material in the solvent.

20. A transport carrier or vehicle comprising a part obtained by a method according to claim 9.

21. The transport carrier or vehicle according to claim 20, wherein the transport carrier or vehicle comprises a manned or unmanned aircraft.

22. The transport carrier or vehicle according to claim 20, wherein the transport carrier or vehicle comprises a manned or unmanned satellite.

23. A transport carrier or vehicle comprising a part obtained by using a manufacturing system according to claim 19.

24. A transport carrier or vehicle comprising a part obtained by using a composite material part according to claim 17.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0095] Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0096] FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method for manufacturing a part made of composite material with a continuous fiber reinforcement;

[0097] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a body which is obtained in a first step of the manufacturing method of FIG. 1;

[0098] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the body of FIG. 2;

[0099] FIG. 4 shows a side view of the body of FIG. 2;

[0100] FIG. 5 shows a plan view of a metallic member which is optionally used in the method of FIG. 1;

[0101] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the metallic member of FIG. 5;

[0102] FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the body of FIG. 2 with a metallic member of FIG. 5 attached thereto;

[0103] FIG. 8 shows a further perspective view of the arrangement of the body and the metallic member of FIG. 7;

[0104] FIG. 9 shows a view similar to FIG. 7 after a further step of the manufacturing method wherein continuous fibers have been injected into the body;

[0105] FIG. 10 shows another perspective view of the arrangement of FIG. 9 with the body, the metallic member and the continuous fibers injected into the body;

[0106] FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of the part manufactured with the method of FIG. 1 with the optional metallic member;

[0107] FIG. 12 shows a further perspective view of the part of FIG. 11; and

[0108] FIG. 13 shows a side view of the part of FIG. 11

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0109] FIG. 1 is a flow chart for a manufacturing method for manufacturing a part 10 made of a composite material 12 with a continuous fiber reinforcement 14. An example for such a part 10 obtained or obtainable by such method is shown in FIGS. 11 to 13.

[0110] The method comprises a first step:

[0111] S1 providing a body 16—see FIGS. 2 to 4—with tubular cavities 18 and with at least one first portion 20 made from a first polymer material 22 and at least one second portion 24 made from a second polymer material 26.

[0112] Further, the manufacturing method of FIG. 1 comprises a second step:

[0113] S2 introducing resin and continuous fibers 28—see FIGS. 9 and 10—into the tubular cavities 18 of the body 16.

[0114] Further, the manufacturing method of FIG. 1 comprises a third step:

[0115] S3 removing the at least one second portion 24.

[0116] In a preferred embodiment, the first step S1 comprises manufacturing of one or several tool parts containing tubular cavities 18 inside. Preferably, the second polymer material 26 is a soluble polymer which is soluble in a specific solvent, while the first polymer material 22 is a non-soluble polymer that is not soluble in the specific solvent. Most preferably, the body 16 is made by additive layer manufacturing with the non-soluble and soluble polymers 22, 26.

[0117] For manufacturing of the body 16, step S1 comprises a first sub-step:

[0118] S1a geometrical design of the fiber reinforcement 14 of the first polymer material 22 which shall be present in the part to be manufactured and of the second polymer material 26 which is only used as surrounding auxiliary or support material for the manufacturing of the part 10 and which is removed in step S3.

[0119] For example, the design is made with CAD software.

[0120] In the first sub-step S1a, the body 16 is preferably designed such that each tubular cavity 18 passes through the body 16 from a first open end 30 to a second open end 32.

[0121] In a preferred embodiment, the first portions 20 are designed such that first portions 20 are present in areas where the continuous fibers 28—which are injected in the second step S2 in the form of fiber bundles 36—form a curvature and/or in junction areas 40 of the part 10. In the junction areas 40, different fiber bundles 36 are close to each other. In the embodiment shown, the part 10 is a composite truss structure 42 with truss struts formed by the continuous fiber bundles 36 and truss nodes formed by the junction areas.

[0122] The at least one second portion 24 is present in all other areas of the body 16. Especially, the at least one second portion 24 forms the wall of the tubular cavities 18 in middle portions thereof and/or in straight sections thereof.

[0123] Most preferably, the tubular cavities 18 pass subsequently through a first portion 20 and a second portion 24. In preferred embodiments, at least one of the first and second open ends 30, 32 of a tubular cavity 18 is formed by a first portion 20.

[0124] Referring back to FIG. 1, the first step S1 of the manufacturing method further comprises a second sub-step:

[0125] S1b manufacturing the body 16 using an additive layer manufacturing machine (ALM machine—not shown).

[0126] Especially, the second sub-step S1b comprises generating of a process path with conventional slicer software such as Simplify3d Cura, Slic3r, . . . Especially, the design obtained by the first sub-step S1a is converted in a machine-readable form that can be read and processed by an additive layer manufacturing machine.

[0127] As ALM machine, any ALM machine (also called 3D printer) can be used that is capable to process the first and second polymer materials 22, 26. The first and second polymer materials 22, 26 can be chosen as needed. In preferred embodiments, the materials 22, 26 are chosen such that the first polymer material 22 is not soluble by a solvent and the second material 26 is soluble by the solvent. For example, the second polymer material 26 is a material which is available on the market as soluble auxiliary material for supporting a 3D structure during printing and that can be removed afterwards. One example is 3dGence ESM-10. The first polymer material 22 is a polymer material which can be printed and which is not soluble by the solvent which is used to remove the second polymer material 26. One example is PEEK. Further examples are PE, PP, ABS, PETG, . . .

[0128] Examples for the ALM machine are a FLM printer (available on the market), HS machines or SLS machines.

[0129] One example for a result of the second sub-step S1b is shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. It shows the body 16 with the tubular cavities 18 having the first open end 30 and second open end 32 and a complex path there between, wherein the first portions 20 made of the first polymer materials 22 are present to form the second open end 32, junction points or junction areas 40 and/or curvature sections of the tubular cavities 18. In an embodiment not shown, additional first portions 20 can also form the first open ends 30. In the embodiment as shown in the FIGS. 2 to 4, the first open ends 30 are provided within the second portion 24 which surrounds and connects several first portions 20 arranged spaced apart from each other.

[0130] One aim of the design of the body is to achieve a part with a very low polymer to reinforcement fiber ratio. Hence, the second material 26 to be removed in the third step and used as auxiliary material only is preferably the dominant material in the body 16. For example, the 60% per weight, especially 70 to 95% per weight of the body is made from the second material 26, and only the rest is made from the first material. Hence, the part 10 will contain only 5 to 40% of the polymer material of the body 16.

[0131] The body 16 is used as a tool to manufacture the part 10 which is shown in FIGS. 11 to 13. The second portion 24 acts as a form for the tubular cavities 18 in order to inject the continuous fibers 28.

[0132] In the embodiment shown, it is further possible to add a third material, for example, a metallic material. An example for a metallic member 44 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The metallic member 44 has, on one side, a form that is complementary to one end of the body 16, especially complementary to one end of the second portion 24. The metallic member 44 has openings that can be aligned with the first open ends 30. The metallic member 44 can be attached to the end of the body 16 which has the first open ends 30 of the tubular cavities 18.

[0133] According to one example, the metallic member 44 has protruding portions 48 defining the openings 46 that can be engaged with recessed portions 50 of the second portion 24 defining the first open ends 30 of the tubular cavities 18.

[0134] Hence, referring back to FIG. 1, the first step S1 can optionally have the additional sub-steps:

[0135] S1c manufacturing a metallic member 44, and

[0136] S1d pre-assembling the body 16 and the metallic member 44.

[0137] In the third sub-step S1c, the metallic member 44 can, for example, be made by machining or other manufacturing technologies.

[0138] In one preferred embodiment of the fourth sub-step S1d, the pre-assembling is done with coincident tubular cavities 18, i.e., the opening 46 are in alignment with the first open ends 30 of the tubular cavities 18. The assembly can be done by different technologies. For example, the metallic member 44 and the body 16 can be attached to each other by positive engagement between the protruding portions 48 and the recessed portions 50. The different parts of the manufacturing tool 52, for example, the body 16 and the metallic member 44, can also be connected to each other, for example by gluing or bonding.

[0139] Preferably, the manufacturing tool 52 is formed by an arrangement of the body 16 and a further member such as the metallic member 44 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

[0140] After the fourth sub-step S1d of the first step S1, the second step S2 is conducted. In the second step S2, a continuous fiber injection process (CFIP) is conducted such as this is described in EP 3 231 592 A1. Preferably, the fibers bundles 36 are injected together with a liquid resin into the tubular cavities 18. This process is generally known from EP 3 231 592 A1 and is not described further herein. Especially, carbon fibers are injected with a thermoset resin. The fiber bundles 36 are then formed by the path of the tubular cavities 18, i.e., the fiber bundles 36 take the form of complex paths of the tubular cavities 18. Then, the resin which is injected together with the fiber bundles 36 is set so that the form of the fiber bundles 36 is fixed by the resin.

[0141] Thus, the manufacturing tool 52 is used as form to form the fiber reinforcement structure.

[0142] The form can be chosen such that the loads in the composite truss structure 42 are oriented as needed.

[0143] According to preferred embodiments, not only load carrying reinforcement by using carbon fiber bundles can be integrated, but also functional fibers. Hence, in at least one of the tubular cavities 18, functional fibers such as glass fibers that can be used to form a thermal and/or strain gauge or ceramic fibers that can be used to form an actuator are injected.

[0144] The second step S2 can also include a setting of the resin. For achieving this, the manufacturing tool 52 with the injected fiber bundles 36 as well as the resin can be put in an oven (not shown) for curing the thermosetting resin. After the second step S2 a structure shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is obtained.

[0145] FIGS. 9 and 10 show the manufacturing tool 52 containing the injected fiber bundles 36. This manufacturing tool 52 is then put into a bath (not shown) with the solvent in order to remove the second polymer material 26 by dissolving it. Such a bath is an example for a dissolving device for dissolving the second material 26.

[0146] Hence, the dissolution of the second polymer material 26 using a specific solvent is one preferred embodiment of the third step S3. The third step S3 may also include other technologies to remove the second material such as subtractive technologies. Especially, the second polymer material 26 can be handled similar to a sacrificial material as known in the semi-conductor component manufacturing.

[0147] After removal of the second material 26, the part 10 is achieved as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13. In this particular embodiment, the part 10 is formed as a composite truss structure 42 with the first polymer material 22 forming junction areas 40 and/or curvature areas while the fiber bundle 36 is fixed by the resin function as truss struts.

[0148] As visible from FIGS. 11 to 13, the metallic member 44 can be used as a fixation means to fix the composite truss structure 42 to other components.

[0149] Especially, the part 10 achieved with the manufacturing method of FIG. 1 can be used for lightweight structure parts of air carrier or space carriers or other vehicles, such as manned or unmanned aircrafts or satellites.

[0150] In order to achieve a composite material part 10 with a fully load adapted 3D fiber reinforcement with low costs for tools and process, the invention provides a manufacturing method for manufacturing a part 10 made of composite material 12 with a continuous fiber reinforcement 14, the method comprising the steps:

[0151] a) providing a body 16 with tubular cavities 18 and having at least one first portion 20 made from a first polymer material 22 and at least one second portion 24 made from a second polymer material 26;

[0152] b) introducing resin and continuous fibers 28 into the tubular cavities 18,

[0153] c) removing at least a part of the second polymer material 26.

[0154] While at least one exemplary embodiment of the present invention(s) is disclosed herein, it should be understood that modifications, substitutions and alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the exemplary embodiment(s). In addition, in this disclosure, the terms “comprise” or “comprising” do not exclude other elements or steps, the terms “a” or “one” do not exclude a plural number, and the term “or” means either or both. Furthermore, characteristics or steps which have been described may also be used in combination with other characteristics or steps and in any order unless the disclosure or context suggests otherwise. This disclosure hereby incorporates by reference the complete disclosure of any patent or application from which it claims benefit or priority.

REFERENCE SIGN LIST

[0155] 10 part [0156] 12 composite material [0157] 14 continuous fiber reinforcement [0158] 16 body [0159] 18 tubular cavity [0160] 20 first portion [0161] 22 first polymer material [0162] 24 second portion [0163] 26 second polymer material [0164] 28 continuous fiber [0165] 30 first open end [0166] 32 second open end [0167] 36 fiber bundle [0168] 40 junction area [0169] 42 composite truss structure [0170] 44 metallic member [0171] 46 openings [0172] 48 protruding portions [0173] 50 recessed portions [0174] 52 manufacturing tool (e.g. body 16 and metallic member 44) [0175] S1 Providing body with first and second portions, made from first and second materials, respectively [0176] S1a geometrically designing of fiber reinforcement and the first and second portions [0177] S1b manufacturing the body using additive layer manufacturing [0178] S1c manufacturing a metallic member [0179] S1d preassembling different parts of the body or of the body and a further member [0180] S2 Introducing resin and continuous fibers into tubular cavities of body [0181] S3 Removing the at least one second portion