GB970837A - Apparatus for making an article from pieces of sheet material - Google Patents

Abstract

970,837. Laminates and laminating. ROLLS-ROYCE Ltd. June 4, 1963, No. 22252/63. Heading B5N. [Also in Division B8] An apparatus for making a compressor blade 36 for a gas turbine engine from pieces of sticky synthetic resin sheet material 35 comprises an endless chain conveyer 10 driven by a sprocket 11 and entrained around an idler 2. A stepwise movement is imparted to the conveyer by a ratchet 12 moved by a double-acting pneumatiram 13. In the course of one cycle platens 14 are carried through twelve punching stations 15. At each station a tape of sticky synthetic resin material 18 backed by paper 23 is fed from a refrigerated enclosure 22 from a metal roll 21 above a platen 14, momentarily at rest at the station, the paper 23 being stripped off the tape 18 by rollers 23, 25, 26. Each station 15 has a punch 16 co-operating with a die 17 to punch out a piece of the tape of predetermined shape, any shock being absorbed by a pad 20. The tape 18, which may be of glass or asbestos fibres impregnated with a phenolic or epoxy resin is reunited with the paper backing 23 and received on a roll 30 in a second refrigerated enclosure 31. Each punch 16 is operated by a pneumatic ram 60, a bottle 61 supplying compressed gas to a valve 63. An electric motor 34 drives the rolls 30 via a belt drive from a shaft 33. The shaft 33 drives a cam shaft 50 which is provided with a cam 51 for each of the stations 15. Each cam 51 has at least one projection 52 arranged to actuate a mercury switch 53 adapted to control one of the punches 16 through a valve 63. The various punches 16 punch from the various tapes 18 pieces 35 which differ in shape from each other (except that the number of pieces punched at any one station is governed by the number of projections 52 on the associated cam 51). The arrangement is such that as a platen 14 moves in turn from one punch 16 to the next it receives piece after piece 35, the various pieces being superimposed so as to form the compressor blade 36. Since the material is sticky each piece 35 is caused to adhere to the underlying pieces by the punching operation itself. The blade 36 is finally placed in a mould (not shown) for final forming and curing of the resin. If the tape 18 on the roll 21 is exhausted a probe 80 contacts the metal of the roll to actuate a warning bell. If not attended to immediately a further circuit (not shown) may be completed to stop the apparatus. The grain 37 of the different pieces 35 extends in different directions either by rotating the platens 14 (Fig. 3, not shown) or feeding the tapes 18 at different angles (Fig. 6, not shown).