Computer Control of Fiber Glass Filament Winding Machines

Filament winding is the process of laying a resin-impregnated band of fiber glass or other reinforcing material on the surface of a rotating mold or mandrel in a precise geometric pattern. Several control strategies for machines to implement the filament winding process have been used. They include mechanical chain machines, open loop stepper motor machines, and analog servo systems with mechanical cams or photo cams. These methods have several drawbacks, primarily a lack of versatility. Most of the drawbacks can be eliminated by use of a computer control system. The features of the computer control system are its versatility, modularity, ease of use, and programability. Programming of the computer control system is via ``fill in the blanks'' menus which include helical and circumferential pattern generation programs. Examples of machines using the computer control system are a very large winder for the production of wind power windmill blades, a four-axis hydraulic machine, and a two-axis electric drive machine.