The Boeing Company

Julie Frances Murphy

Marc Rollo Matsen

Randall Dow Wilkerson

Lee Charles Firth

Richard V Phillips

Bernhard Dopker

Jordan Seth Erickson

Kenneth D Cominsky

Ravi Verma

Alexandra K Dillon

Kevin F Malik

Adam La Gorce

David E Gideon

Trevor S Mccrea

A roller for automated fiber placement includes a flexible rim member arranged about a central axis. The flexible rim member has an inner side and an outer side, and the central axis is closer to the inner side than to the outer side. The roller also includes a hub member arranged substantially concentric with the flexible rim member about the central axis. The hub member defines an opening to receive a shaft of an automated fiber placement machine. The roller further includes a plurality of curved interconnect members extending between the hub member and the flexible rim member. Each of the plurality of curved interconnect members is elastically deformable to accommodate deformation of the flexible rim member. The roller also includes one or more roller skin layers coupled to the outer side of the flexible rim member.

Automated fiber placement roller

Systems and methods are provided for creating precursors for consolidating composite parts. One embodiment is a method for forming a metallic structure. The method includes forming a precursor for a pressure membrane that includes a contour having a linearized length corresponding with a linearized length of a surface of a forming tool. The method also includes affixing a perimeter of the precursor to a perimeter of a base member, leaving a volume between the base member and the precursor, altering a shape of the precursor at a superplastic temperature by forcing the precursor into complementary contact with the surface of the forming tool, and setting the shape of the precursor while the precursor is held in complementary contact.

Precursor fabrication for high-temperature pressure membranes

Growing community of inventors

Puyallup, WA, United States of America

Julie Frances Murphy