Andrew D Short

US Patent:

20070120277, May 31, 2007

Filed:

Dec 8, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/581408

Inventors:

Andrew Short - Park Hills KY, US

International Classification:

B29D 11/00

US Classification:

264001100

Abstract:

Method for producing a fibrous preform, especially by needling a fiber material (e.g., discontinuous pitch-based or PAN-based fiber). A needle-penetrable mold plate () having at least one mold cavity () therein for receiving the fiber material is provided. The use of a needle-penetrable mold plate allows the mold plate having the fiber material therein to be passed freely through a linear needling device, such as a linear needling loom, without having to take rigorous care to limit a needling path to the discontinuous fiber material, as in the conventional art. The mold plate is moved relative to the needling device one or more times until a desired level of material density (sometimes measured by fiber content percentage) is attained. Preferably, the mold plate is additionally moved and/or allowed to move along a direction generally transverse to the direction along with the mold plate moves relative to the needling device, so as to avoid the conventional problem of needle “tracking” and thereby create a better needling effect.