The Boeing Company

Antonio Martinez

Darrell Darwin Jones

Raviendra Sidath Suriyaarachchi

Bret Rodeheaver

Valentín Forte

Valentin Forte

Darell Darwin Jones

There is provided a pick-and-place system for transferring and installing a contoured composite structure onto a mandrel, in a composite manufacturing system. The pick-and-place system includes a tray station having a tray assembly to hold the contoured composite structure, prior to transfer and installation onto the mandrel. The pick-and-place system further includes an installation station having the mandrel and a pick-and-place assembly. The mandrel is designed to receive the contoured composite structure, and designed to move along a moving manufacturing line, via a conveyor assembly. The pick-and-place assembly includes a gantry assembly, a main beam suspended from the gantry assembly, the main beam having a plurality of end effector assemblies and a plurality of indexing assemblies, a vacuum system coupled to the main beam, a load balancer assembly coupling the main beam to the gantry assembly, and a control system coupled to the pick-and-place assembly, to operably control the pick-and-place-assembly.

Pick-and-place system and method for transferring and installing a contoured composite structure

There is provided a forming system for forming a contoured composite structure having a complex curved configuration. The forming system includes a receiving station having a receiving assembly to receive a composite charge to be formed. The forming system includes a forming station having a forming assembly. The forming assembly includes a gantry assembly, an upper die assembly movably coupled to the gantry assembly, a lower die assembly coupled to a floor support beam positioned between the gantry assembly, and one or more pick-and-place devices movably coupled to the gantry assembly. The upper die assembly is separate from, and independently movable with respect to, the lower die assembly. The pick-and-place device(s) are designed to move the composite charge, and the contoured composite structure. The forming system includes a tray station having a tray assembly designed to receive the contoured composite structure from the forming station.

Forming system and method for forming a contoured composite structure

Growing community of inventors

Murcia, Spain

Antonio Martinez