Braiding machine and methods of use
Systems and methods for forming a tubular braid are disclosed herein. A braiding system configured in accordance with embodiments of the present technology can include, for example, an upper drive unit, a lower drive unit, a mandrel coaxial with the upper and lower drive units, and a plurality of tubes extending between the upper drive unit and the lower drive unit. Each tube can be configured to receive individual filaments for forming the tubular braid, and the upper drive unit and the lower drive unit can act against the tubes in synchronization to cross the filaments over and under one another to form the tubular braid on the mandrel.
1 . A braiding system for forming a braid, comprising:
a braiding assembly having a longitudinal axis and including a drive unit constraining a plurality of elongate members, wherein individual ones of the elongate members are configured to receive individual filaments, and wherein the drive unit comprises:
an outer assembly including outer slots, an outer cam, and an outer drive mechanism; and
an inner assembly coaxially aligned with the outer assembly, wherein the inner assembly includes inner slots, an inner cam, and inner drive mechanism;
wherein the outer drive mechanism is configured to rotate the outer cam to drive the subset of the elongate members from the outer slots to the inner slots; and
wherein the inner drive mechanism is configured to rotate the inner cam to drive the subset of the elongate members from the inner slots to the outer slots
a mandrel positioned along the longitudinal axis;
an actuator configured to move the mandrel along the longitudinal axis; and
a control system having a user interface, wherein the user interface is configured to receive a user input corresponding to a characteristic of the braid, and wherein the control system is configured to, based on the user input, control (a) the actuator to control movement of the mandrel along the longitudinal axis and (b) the drive unit to drive at least a subset of elongate members (i) radially inward toward the longitudinal axis, (ii) radially outward away from the longitudinal axis, and (iii) along an arcuate path relative to the longitudinal axis, thereby forming the filaments into the braid along the mandrel to have the characteristic.
2 . The braiding system of claim 1 wherein the characteristic of the braid is number of picks per unit length.
3 . The braiding system of claim 1 wherein the characteristic of the braid is a pick count.
4 . The braiding system of claim 1 wherein the characteristic of the braid is a braid angle.
5 . The braiding system of claim 1 wherein the characteristic of the braid is a flexibility.
6 . A braiding system for forming a braid, comprising:
a braiding assembly having a longitudinal axis and including a drive unit constraining a plurality of elongate members, wherein individual ones of the elongate members are configured to receive individual filaments;
a mandrel positioned along the longitudinal axis;
an actuator configured to move the mandrel along the longitudinal axis; and
a control system having a user interface, wherein the user interface is configured to:
display a user element;
receive a user input selecting the user element;
display a plurality of braid profiles in response to receiving the user input, wherein each of the braid profiles specifies one or more different characteristics for the braid; and
receive a second user input to select one of the braid profiles;
wherein the control system is configured to, based on the selected one of the braid profiles, control (a) the actuator to control movement of the mandrel along the longitudinal axis and (b) the drive unit to drive at least a subset of elongate members (i) radially inward toward the longitudinal axis, (ii) radially outward away from the longitudinal axis, and (iii) along an arcuate path relative to the longitudinal axis, thereby forming the filaments into the braid along the mandrel to have the characteristics of the selected braid profile.
7 . The braiding system of claim 6 wherein the characteristics include a number of picks per unit length.
8 . The braiding system of claim 6 wherein the characteristics include a pick count.
9 . The braiding system of claim 6 wherein the characteristics include a braid angle.
10 . The braiding system of claim 6 wherein the characteristics include a flexibility.
11 . The braiding system of claim 6 wherein the braiding assembly further comprises a plurality of weights configured to be secured to corresponding ones of the filaments to tension the filaments.
12 . The braiding system of claim 6 wherein the one or more different characteristics comprise a first value for one of the characteristics for a first section of the braid and a second value for the one of the characteristics for a second section of the braid, and wherein the control system is configured to control the actuator to move the mandrel at a first rate to form the first section and at a second rate different than the first rate to form the second section.
13 . The braiding system of claim 6 wherein the selected braid profile comprises different characteristics for at least three different sections of the braid.
14 . The braiding system of claim 6 wherein the selected braid profile comprises different characteristics for at least two different sections of the braid.
15 . The braiding system of claim 6 wherein the characteristics include one or more of a length of the braid, a pick count of the braid, a braid angle of the braid, a number of different sections of the braid, and a wire count of the braid.