Ltv Aerospace & Defense Company

William J Murray

George A Earle, Iii

Charles B Evans

An automated tool positining system is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of work stations, each having a set of guide rails disposed along the length thereof. A single control device is provided and includes a set of guide rails adapted to be temporarily aligned with the guide rails of each work station. The control device is thus movable from work station to work station and operates with a novel tool support member which may be selectively positioned along any guide rail to support a cutting tool at a selected position on a particular work station. The tool support member includes arcuate bearing surfaces which permit the cutting tool to be rotated through a conical section having its vertex at the cutting point of the tool in reponse to the output of a workpiece surface detection circuit. In this manner, the cutting tool may be automatically and accurately positioned normal to the contoured surface of the workpiece.

Automated tool positioning system

An automated tool positioning system is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of work stations, each having a set of guide rails disposed along the length thereof. A single control device is provided and includes a set of guide rails adapted to be temporarily aligned with the guide rails of each work station. The control device is thus movable from work station to work station and operates with a novel tool support member which may be selectively positioned along any guide rail to support a cutting tool at a selected position on a particular work station. The tool support member includes arcuate bearing surfaces which permit the cutting tool to be rotated through a conical section having its vertex at the cutting point of the tool in response to the output of a workpiece surface detection circuit. In this manner, the cutting tool may be automatically and accurately positioned normal to the contoured surface of the workpiece.

An apparatus for forming composite, fiber/resin components with fibrous, resin-impregnated tape is disclosed. The apparatus employs a gantry for positioning a tape dispensing head assembly over a mold structure, which defines a mold surface of planar or contoured configuration. A control system is employed having sensing devices for generating signals indicative of relative positions of components of the apparatus in several axes of permissible movement, and tape application is effected by means of major and secondary command inputs to appropriate servomotor devices. Primary and initial movement is controlled in accordance with a sequence command program in cooperation with a resident program in a digital computer, and a second, adaptive control system is alternatively employed for enabling the tape dispensing head to follow vertical contours of the mold surface during X-Y movement across the surface.

Apparatus and method for manufacturing composite structures

An apparatus is disclosed for forming concave tape wrapped composite structures. The apparatus utilizes a mold having a cylindrical concave surface with a mounting plate mounted for rotation at each end thereof about a point on a longitudinal axis of the concave surface. A longitudinal shaft is mounted to each mounting plate a selected distance from the longitudinal axis and extends parallel thereto. A tape dispenser carriage is mounted to the longitudinal shaft and is movable along the length thereof. A radial shaft is mounted through the tape dispenser carriage such that the longitudinal axis of the radial shaft passes through the longitudinal axis of the concave surface and along a radius of the concave surface. A composite tape dispenser is mounted at the lower end of the radial shaft and in a preferred embodiment of the present invention a rack and pinion gear system is utilized in conjunction with both the longitudinal shaft and the radial shaft to allow tape to be applied to the entire concave surface of the mold.

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Midlothian, TX, United States of America

William J Murray