Abstract: A moving slide has a pair of flexible curtains mounted to its front and rear surfaces, the curtains being attached at opposite ends to front and rear support posts mounted to a base. The support posts have upper and lower pulleys. A cable is connected to the front of the slide and runs in this fashion: first horizontally across the top pulley, thence to the lower pulley, thence to the other support post, thence upwardly and finally around to the horizontal portion which connects to the rear of the slide. The cable is tensioned to a predetermined load which remains constant throughout the slide travel as the front and rear horizontal portions of the cable move. The flexible curtains are suspended from, but are not rigidly attached to, the cable. Thus, as the curtains expand and contract, the moving horizontal portions of the tensioned cable ride smoothly through the curtains, maintaining curtain support.

Abstract: A gripper on a powered gantry, which moves longitudinally relative to a porous conveyor belt, pulls a selected length of a composite sheet material and its backing from a supply roll on a carrousel and past a cutter. After a segment has been cut, the gantry returns the gripper to pull the composite sheet and its backing from the supply roll while the belt moves the segment thereon to a desired position thereon. This continues until the belt supports a plurality of segments. The gripper gantry includes a marker to mark each segment on the belt. After marking is completed, a powered gantry moves to dispose a top film over the segments. A powered gantry, which has a cutter thereon, is then moved so that the cutter, which can move orthogonal to the motion of the gantry and also has its reciprocating cutting blades rotatable about a vertical axis, can cut one or more pieces of desired shapes from each segment. After cutting is completed, the segments are advanced from the belt through a separator.

Abstract: A fiber placement machine has a head for controlling fiber tows running from an upstream supply creel to a downstream work laydown zone, and the head includes a bracket supporting a presser member which impresses and compacts the fiber against a workpiece. The head includes a relatively rigid fiber guide assembly and a drive for moving the fiber guide to an advanced position near the presser member and a retracted position away from the presser member. In the advanced position, fiber tows run uninhibited through channels in the fiber guide. However, when it is desired to cut the fibers, the fiber guide is run to the retracted position, at which point the guide is clamped to the incoming fiber tows. After the exiting cut fiber has been laid down on the workpiece by the presser member, the incoming fibers may be restarted by driving the fiber guide and its clamped fiber tow to an advanced position where the fiber tow end may be grabbed in the nip formed between the presser member and the workpiece.

Abstract: A bracket carries a plurality of wafer members stacked across the width of a fiber band. At least one wafer member is stationary with respect to the bracket, and at least one wafer member is movable, in a direction normal to the fiber laydown surface. In-line apertures are provided through the wafer members, and a fluid operated bladder is commonly disposed through the apertures and inflated to bias the movable wafer members against the fiber laydown surface when the stationary member is impressed against the fiber laydown surface. The wafer members have a compliant contact surface for contacting the band of fibers, and the movable wafer and contact means may thereby float with respect to the bracket to adapt to contour variances across the band width on the laydown surface.

Abstract: A tape laying machine is disclosed carrying a tape laminator unit which forms in situ from individual strips of composite material.The strips are first spaced apart on a carrier sheet and next compressed to a relatively thin widened state where the widened strips are contiguous to one another, forming a unitary wide composite tape.The tape is conveyed to a tape laydown station where it is transferred from the carrier sheet and deposited on a work surface.

Abstract: A slide valve has a spool valve element that is moved unidirectionally to a sequence of three positions during its operating cycle. The valve structure and unidirectional motion of the spool provide a precompression of the fluid being handled. The valve structure also permits relief of excess downstream pressure. Preferably hydraulic liquid is used to drive, position, and reset the spool valve. The spool valve itself has a hollow body with one groove on its outside surface and a valve body with a port at one end that is always in communication with the hollow portion of the spool valve. The slide valve is especially designed for and preferably used in a liquid reaction molding system to direct a reagent between a source (e.g. reservoir) and a destination (e.g. a mixing head). When applied to such a reaction molding system each slide valve replaces three conventional ball valves and one check valve and yet provides the additional features of precompression and relief of excess pressure.