COMPOSITE BRACKET MOUNT

WHAT?

• Design composite bracket for pellet extruder arm

​​

• Capable of operating at 100°C

​​

• Must use readily available hardware

​​

• Manufacturing process must be good for at least 6 units

​​

• Design must withstand 50 lb force at extruder tip with <0.005” deflection​​

HOW?

• Used a carbon fiber reinforced composite to reduce mass

​​

• An FEA Von-Mises stress analysis and a deformation simulation were used to guide design choices

​​

• Ansys Composite PrepPost (ACP) was used to build the composite in the computer as it would be by hand

RESULTS

• Utilized 8-40 plies of woven prepreg to provide reinforcement in high stress regions

​

• Implemented quasi-isotropic groups to allow for a variety of loading directions

​

• Avoided in-plane shear stresses by using lap joints

​

• A soft tooled mold was designed for rapid manufacturing of the bracket