Advanced high speed programmable preforming

Polymer-matrix composites offer greater stiffness and strength per unit weight than conventional materials resulting in new opportunities for lightweighting of automotive and heavy vehicles. Other benefits include design flexibility, less corrosion susceptibility, and the ability to tailor properties to specific load requirements. However, widespread implementation of structural composites requires lower-cost manufacturing processes than those that are currently available. Advanced, directed-fiber preforming processes have demonstrated exceptional value for rapid preforming of large, glass-reinforced, automotive composite structures. This is due to process flexibility and inherently low material scrap rate. Hence directed fiber performing processes offer a low cost manufacturing methodology for producing preforms for a variety of structural automotive components. This paper describes work conducted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), focused on the development and demonstration of a high speed chopper gun to enhance throughput capabilities. ORNL and the Automotive Composites Consortium (ACC) revised the design of a standard chopper gun to expand the operational envelope, enabling delivery of up to 20kg/min. A prototype unit was fabricated and used to demonstrate continuous chopping of multiple roving at high output. In addition fiber handling system modifications were completed to sustain the high output the modified chopper affords. These hardware upgrades are documented along with results of process characterization and capabilities assessment.