System and method for textile positioning

Abstract

A circular needle loom comprises a stationary bed plate for receiving a spiral textile. Engagement members may be disposed next to the stationary bed plate, such that the engagement members interface with a positional structure of the spiral textile that is used to position and rotate the spiral textile around the stationary bed plate. A conical roller deploys the spiral textile on the stationary bed plate. The engagement members rotate the spiral textile around the stationary bed plate until a predetermined number of layers are deposited on the stationary bed plate. A spiral textile comprises a weft tow that extends from an inside diameter to an outside diameter, and a positional structure, such as a sacrificial edge and/or loop, is located next to and/or is attached to the weft tow. The positional structure facilitates positioning the spiral textile in a desired manner with respect to the circular needle loom in order to create a needled preform.

1 . A circular needle loom, comprising
 a stationary bed plate for receiving a spiral textile;   engagement members disposed proximate the stationary bed plate, wherein the engagement members interface with at least one of the spiral textile and a positional structure of the spiral textile to facilitate rotating the spiral textile around the stationary bed plate; and   a conical roller for deploying the spiral textile on the stationary bed plate.   
     
     
         2 . The circular needle loom of  claim 1 , further comprising a needling zone proximate the stationary bed plate to needle the spiral textile. 
     
     
         3 . The circular needle loom of  claim 1 , wherein the engagement members rotate the spiral textile around the stationary bed plate until a predetermined number of layers are deposited on the stationary bed plate. 
     
     
         4 . The circular needle loom of  claim 1 , wherein the positional structure includes a sacrificial structure comprising at least one of a sacrificial edge and a fiber loop. 
     
     
         5 . The circular needle loom of  claim 1 , wherein the engagement members comprise spikes that engage the positional structure and rotate the spiral textile on the stationary bed plate. 
     
     
         6 . The circular needle loom of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:
 an inside support disposed about an inside of the stationary bed plate; and   an outside support disposed about an outside of the stationary bed plate, wherein the engagement members are disposed proximate at least one of the inside support and the outside support.   
     
     
         7 . The circular needle loom of  claim 6 , wherein the engagement members comprise clamps to secure the spiral textile to at least one of the inside support and the outside support. 
     
     
         8 . The circular needle loom of  claim 7 , wherein at least one of the inside support and the outside support rotate with respect to the stationary bed plate to facilitate rotating the spiral textile around the stationary bed plate. 
     
     
         9 . The circular needle loom of  claim 8 , further comprising spikes disposed on at least one of the inside support and the outside support, wherein the spikes penetrate the positional structure to secure the spiral textile with the clamps and rotate the spiral textile around the stationary bed plate. 
     
     
         10 . The circular needle loom of  claim 1 , wherein the engagement members comprise wheels with spikes that engage the positional structure to rotate the spiral textile around the stationary bed plate. 
     
     
         11 . The circular needle loom of  claim 10 , wherein the stationary bed plate comprises circumferential spike grooves into which the spikes on the wheels pass as the wheels rotate. 
     
     
         12 . The circular needle loom of  claim 6 , wherein the inside support and the outside support are stationary with respect to the stationary bed plate. 
     
     
         13 . The circular needle loom of  claim 12 , wherein the engagement members comprise wheels with spikes that pass into circumferential spike grooves in the inside support and outside support to facilitate rotating the spiral textile around the stationary bed plate. 
     
     
         14 . The circular needle loom of  claim 13 , further comprising a support guide to limit a predetermined number of layers of the spiral textile that are engaged by the spikes. 
     
     
         15 . The circular needle loom of  claim 1 , wherein the engagement members are retractable to facilitate removing a needled preform from the circular needle loom. 
     
     
         16 . A system for positioning a spiral textile on a circular needle loom, comprising:
 a rotational bed plate that receives a spiral textile;   engagement members disposed proximate the rotational bed plate, wherein the engagement members interface with a positional structure of the spiral textile to secure the spiral textile to the rotational bed plate; and   a conical roller for deploying the spiral textile on the rotational bed plate.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the positional structure comprises at least one of a sacrificial edge and a fiber loop. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the engagement members comprise retractable clamps that secure the positional structure to the rotatable bed plate, wherein the retractable clamps rotate with the rotational bed plate and the spiral textile. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the engagement members comprise wheels that roll with respect to the rotational bed plate, wherein the positional structure passes under the wheels as the spiral textile rotates with the rotational bed plate. 
     
     
         20 . A method for needling a spiral textile to create a needled preform, the method comprising:
 receiving the spiral textile on a bed plate of a circular needle loom;   engaging a positional structure of the spiral textile;   rotating the spiral textile around the circular needle loom;   depositing a predetermined number of layers of the spiral textile on the bed plate; and   needling the spiral textile to create the needled preform.   
     
     
         21 . A spiral textile, comprising:
 an inside diameter and an outside diameter;   a weft tow extending from the inside diameter to the outside diameter and   a positional structure proximate the weft tow and proximate at least one of the inside diameter and the outside diameter, wherein the positional structure facilitates positioning and transporting layers of the spiral textile with respect to a circular needle loom to create a needled preform.   
     
     
         22 . The spiral textile of  claim 21 , further comprising a warp tow, wherein the positional structure is proximate the warp tow. 
     
     
         23 . The spiral textile of  claim 21 , wherein the positional structure includes a sacrificial structure comprising at least one of loops, ridges, and sacrificial edges. 
     
     
         24 . The spiral textile of  claim 22 , further comprising sacrificial warp fibers proximate the outside diameter and the inside diameter. 
     
     
         25 . The spiral textile of  claim 24 , wherein the sacrificial warp fibers comprise synthetic fibers, and wherein the warp tow comprises carbon fibers. 
     
     
         26 . The spiral textile of  claim 24 , wherein the sacrificial warp fibers and the warp tow comprise carbon fibers. 
     
     
         27 . The spiral textile of  claim 25 , wherein the weft tow comprises carbon fibers, and wherein the sacrificial warp fibers and the weft tow form a sacrificial structure. 
     
     
         28 . The spiral textile of  claim 27 , wherein the sacrificial structure extends from about 0.15 inches to about 1.0 inch from at least one of the inside diameter and the outside diameter. 
     
     
         29 . The spiral textile of  claim 27 , wherein the sacrificial structure is at least one of burned off and removed after the spiral textile is formed into the needled preform. 
     
     
         30 . The spiral textile of  claim 21 , wherein the positional structure comprises a fiber loop. 
     
     
         31 . The spiral textile of  claim 30 , further comprising a loop weft tow extending from the outside diameter to the inside diameter, and wherein the fiber loop is connected to the loop weft tow. 
     
     
         32 . The spiral textile of  claim 31 , wherein the fiber loop comprises carbon fibers, and wherein the loop weft tow comprises carbon fibers. 
     
     
         33 . The spiral textile of  claim 31 , wherein the fiber loop comprises synthetic fibers, and wherein the loop weft tow comprises synthetic fibers, wherein the fiber loop is created during weaving of the spiral textile in a narrow fabric needle loom. 
     
     
         34 . The spiral textile of  claim 31 , wherein the fiber loop comprises synthetic fibers, wherein the loop weft tow comprises carbon fibers, and wherein the fiber loop is attached to the loop weft tow after weaving of the spiral textile in a narrow fabric needle loom. 
     
     
         35 . The spiral textile of  claim 34 , wherein the fiber loop is attached to the loop weft tow by at least one of stitching and thermal bonding. 
     
     
         36 . The spiral textile of  claim 21 , wherein the positional structure interfaces with an engagement mechanism on the circular needle loom. 
     
     
         37 . The spiral textile of  claim 36 , wherein the engagement mechanism comprises at least one of a wheel, a clamp, and a spike. 
     
     
         38 . A circular needled preform, comprising:
 a plurality of layers of a spiral textile needled together by a circular needle loom;   a weft tow disposed in the spiral textile, wherein the weft tow has a first end and a second end; and   a positional structure interfacing with at least one of the first end of the weft tow and the second end of the weft tow, wherein the positional structure interfaces with an engagement mechanism of the circular needle loom to facilitate depositing the plurality of layers, and wherein the positional structure is removable from the spiral textile.   
     
     
         39 . The circular needled preform of  claim 38 , wherein the positional structure comprises at least one of a fiber loop and a sacrificial edge. 
     
     
         40 . A method for creating a circular needled preform from a spiral textile, comprising:
 weaving a weft tow from an inside diameter to an outside diameter of the spiral textile into a plurality of warp tows spaced between the inside diameter and the outside diameter;   attaching sacrificial fibers to at least one of the weft tow and the plurality of warp tows proximate at least one of the inside diameter and the outside diameter;   engaging the sacrificial fibers with an engagement mechanism on a circular needle loom;   moving the spiral textile on the circular needle loom to deploy a predetermined number of layers of the spiral textile on the circular needle loom; and   removing at least a portion of the sacrificial fibers after needling the spiral textile.