United Technologies Corporation

Harry A Nutter, Jr

Leon Stoltze

Edwin R More

Robert Wilson

John M Graff

Bonding pressure is uniformly applied to the lay-up (70) of a bonded product (10) by the disposition of flexible, compressible, perforated sheet material (85) between the lay-up and a pair of molds (75 and 80) during the manufacture of the product by diffusion bonding.

Fabrication of bonded structures

An improved method is disclosed for forming articles, especially airfoils, comprised of a fiber reinforced plastic bonded to a metal object. In the manufacture of a propeller blade a subassembly is made by coating a metal spar with a certain class of adhesive to a depth of 5-40 mils to compensate for dimensional variations in the spar surface, transferably coating the interior of a subassembly mold with the adhesive, then inserting the coated spar into the mold and injecting a lightweight filler material. The adhesive and filler are then precured and the subassembly removed from the mold. A fibrous reinforcing material, such as glass fiber cloth, is then used to cover or wrap the subassembly, the subassembly thus covered is placed in a second mold and a synthetic polymeric material such as epoxy resin, previously or subsequently applied, is then cured. In the formation of other articles, the filler material might be entirely omitted, and the reinforcing fibers would be separated from a metal substrate only by the precured adhesive.

Method of making fiber reinforced articles

In a method for manufacturing a fiber reinforced article, a plurality of sheets of fibrous material (38 and 40) each having minute quantities of a thermoplastic adhesive (50) on a single surface thereof are laid up on a suitable form such that the adhesive of each sheet is disposed in contact with an adjacent preceding sheet or form. The sheets are tailored to the form and adhesively bonded to one another by activation of the adhesive with heat and pressure.

Manufacture of fiber reinforced articles

A method for fabricating a filament reinforced metal matrix composite comprises bonding a plurality of filaments to a perforated metal foil with a fugitive binder, overlaying the filaments with a second perforated metal foil to form a stack, positioning the stack in a vacuum die, heating the stack in a vacuum to cause vaporization of the binder and evacuation of the vapors through the perforations in the foils and hot pressing to consolidate the stack.

Method of fabricating fiber-reinforced articles

Composite materials comprised of reinforcing filaments captured in an uncured resinous matrix are shaped and subsequently stacked by a technique which may be automated. The composite material, in tape form, is sandwiched between liners, the liners being selected or treated so as to exhibit an adhesion differential with respect to the tacky uncured resin, and the plies of the resultant multilayer article are thereafter cut, the upper liner removed and the plies stacked utilizing the ply-to-ply adherence.

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Longmeadow, MA, United States of America

Harry A Nutter, Jr