The Boeing Company

Christopher Robert Brown

Jonathan Y Ahn

Shuonan Dong

Ricardo Andreas Fritzke

Jonathan A Santiago

Daniel James McMillan

Bonnie Ann Keefe

Jonathan Alejandro Santiago

Daniel James Mcmillan

Jonathan Young Ahn

Systems for forming composite parts, methods of forming composite parts, and methods of precisely performing a plurality of operations on a composite part. The systems include a layup mandrel that includes a mandrel body and a plurality of regions of isotropic surface finish. The methods of forming the composite part include positioning a plurality of plies of composite material on a layup mandrel, conforming the plurality of plies of composite material to a layup surface shape of the layup mandrel, and curing the plurality of plies of composite material. The methods of precisely performing the plurality of operations on a composite part include detecting a corresponding imprinted feature of a plurality of imprinted features, aligning an operating assembly of an end effector relative to the corresponding imprinted feature, and performing a corresponding operation of the plurality of operations on the composite part.

Systems for forming composite parts, methods of forming composite parts, and methods of precisely performing a plurality of operations on a composite part

The magnetic handling systems comprise a bladder and a magnetic carriage system. The bladder is configured to be received within a stringer interior volume of a hat stringer and comprises a magnetic insert having a plurality of magnetic walls, each configured to align with a respective wall portion of the hat stringer. The magnetic carriage system comprises a carriage having a magnetic head that comprises a bracket and a plurality of magnetic sources supported by the bracket. Each magnetic source is configured to magnetically couple with a respective magnetic wall of the magnetic insert to produce an attractive magnetic force therebetween. The methods comprise disposing a bladder having a plurality of the magnetic inserts within the hat stringer, magnetically engaging a plurality of the magnetic heads with the plurality of magnetic inserts, and conforming the hat stringer by moving at least one magnetic head relative to another magnetic head.

Magnetic handling systems for hat stringers and related methods

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Christopher Robert Brown