Fiber application head with retractable flap
A fiber application head for the production of composite material parts. The fiber application head includes a compaction roller, guiding means, a retractable flap which can be displaced between an active position in which the said flap is able to come by its distal end against the fiber in order to bring the fiber in abutment against the roller, and a retracted position in which the flap is spaced apart from the roller, and a heating system able to emit thermal radiation towards the nip zone between the roller and the application surface. The flap is displaceable by actuation means between its active position and its retracted position so that the roller is subjected to the radiation of the heating system over a greater surface area in the retracted position than in the active position of the flap.
1 . A fiber application head for the production of composite material parts comprising:
a compaction system comprising at least one compaction roller;
guiding means for guiding at least one fiber towards said compaction roller;
at least one retractable flap displaceable by actuation means between an active position in which said at least one retractable flap is able to come by its distal end against the fiber exiting from the guiding means in order to bring said fiber in abutment against the compaction roller, and a retracted position in which said at least one retractable flap is spaced apart from the compaction roller; and
at least one heating system able to emit thermal radiation towards a nip zone between the compaction roller and an application surface, in order to heat the fiber exiting from the guiding means, as well as the application surface and/or one or more fibers previously applied,
said at least one retractable flap being displaceable by actuation means between its active position and its retracted position so that the compaction roller is subjected to the radiation of the at least one heating system over a greater surface area in the retracted position than in the active position of the at least one retractable flap,
wherein, in the retracted position, a surface of the compaction roller is exposed to the radiation emitted by the heating system over a first angle, and, in the active position, a surface area of the compaction roller receiving the radiation extends from the distal end of the retractable flap to the nip zone over a second angle that is smaller than the first angle.
2 . The fiber application head according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one retractable flap is displaceable by a translational movement between its active position and its retracted position, said actuation means comprising at least one cylinder.
3 . The fiber application head according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one retractable flap in its active position is elastically in abutment with its distal end against the compaction roller.
4 . The fiber application head according to claim 1 , wherein said guiding means are able to guide a plurality of fibers onto the compaction roller in the form of a band, the at least one retractable flap being associated with the compaction roller.
5 . The fiber application head according to claim 1 , wherein said fiber application head is able to apply several fibers by means of the compaction system comprising several independent compaction rollers and compaction cylinders, wherein,
for each fiber, the head comprises a functional module configured to cut and reroute said fiber, each functional module being mounted so as to be mobile in translation in a compaction direction on a support element of the head,
each compaction roller being mounted on one or more adjacent functional modules and a compaction cylinder being associated with the functional module(s) associated with a compaction roller,
each of the at least one heating system being associated with one of the several independent compaction rollers, and each of the at least one retractable flap being associated with at least one of the several independent compaction rollers.
6 . The fiber application head according to claim 5 , comprising one compaction roller per functional module.
7 . The fiber application head according to claim 5 , comprising at least one first functional module and at least one second functional module arranged alternately side by side, each first functional module comprising a first channel configured to guide a first fiber towards the compaction roller along a first guiding plane forming a first non-zero angle with the compaction plane of the rotation axis of the compaction rollers, each second functional module comprising a second channel configured to guide a second fiber towards the compaction roller along a second guiding plane forming a second non-zero angle with the compaction plane, said second non-zero angle being greater than the first non-zero angle, said first and second guiding planes being arranged on the same side of the compaction plane.
8 . The fiber application head according to claim 6 , comprising at least one first functional module and at least one second functional module arranged alternately side by side, each first functional module comprising a first channel configured to guide a first fiber towards the compaction roller along a first guiding plane forming a first non-zero angle with the compaction plane of the rotation axis of the compaction rollers, each second functional module comprising a second channel configured to guide a second fiber towards the compaction roller along a second guiding plane forming a second non-zero angle with the compaction plane, said second non-zero angle being greater than the first non-zero angle, said first and second guiding planes being arranged on the same side of the compaction plane, wherein said at least one retractable flap is associated with said at least one first functional module.
9 . The fiber application head according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one heating system comprises a laser type heating system, or a flash lamp type heating system.
10 . A method for manufacturing a composite material part comprising the application of continuous fibers onto an application surface, wherein the application of fibers is performed by means of a fiber application head according to claim 1 , by relative displacement of the application head with respect to the lay-up surface according to deposition trajectories, the at least one retractable flap associated with a fiber being displaced into the active position at least during a fiber rerouting operation and/or fiber cutting operation, and returned to the retracted position when the end of the rerouted fiber is no longer compacted by the compaction roller, so as to heat said fiber before it is compacted by the compaction roller over a greater length of fiber.
11 . The fiber application head according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one retractable flap is movable relative to the guiding means.
12 . The fiber application head according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one retractable flap is movable in translation relative to the guiding means.
13 . The fiber application head according to claim 11 , wherein the actuation means is mounted to the guiding means.
14 . The fiber application head according to claim 11 ,
wherein, in the active position, a distal end of the at least one retractable flap is positioned at a first position in which the distal end of the at least one retractable flap is in contact with the fiber and the at least one retractable flap presses the fiber against the compaction roller, and
wherein, in the retracted position, the distal end of the at least one retractable flap is set back relative to the first position.
15 . The fiber application head according to claim 14 , wherein the guiding means comprise a channel in which said fiber is guided, said channel having an end located adjacent the compaction roller, and
wherein, in the active position, the distal end of the at least one retractable flap is positioned farther away from the end of the channel than in the retracted position.
16 . The fiber application head according to claim 11 , wherein the actuation system is configured to move the at least one retractable flap in translation between said retracted position and said active position.
17 . The fiber application head according to claim 11 , wherein the at least one retractable flap comprises a metal plate including a proximal part coupled to the actuation means and a distal part inclined relative to the proximal part in a direction of the compaction roller.
18 . The fiber application head according to claim 17 , wherein the distal part forms an angle relative to the proximal part of 10 to 35 degrees.
19 . The fiber application head according to claim 11 , wherein the actuation means is configured to position the at least one retractable flap in the active position during rerouting or cutting of the fiber and wherein the actuation means is configured to position the at least one retractable flap in the retracted position after rerouting or cutting of the fiber.