The Boeing Company

Lisa Christina Carlson

Garrett C Hanson

Khanh Mai Pham

Kurtis Shuldberg Willden

Gagandeep Saini

Kanna M Pham

Darrell Darwin Jones

Brett Ian Lyons

Jonathan A Santiago

Joseph L Sweetin

Stanley W Stawski

Scott Edward Krajca

Silas Lawton Studley

Matt Wallen

Hyukbong Kwon

Jake Adam Reeves

Jens Rossfeldt

Chilip Chan

Mary LeAnn Parker

Robert B Miller

Kiet Nguyen

Daniel R Smith

Daniel M Rotter

Michael Robert Chapman

Brian Gregory Robins

Brian J Smith

Brad Andrew Coxon

Jonathan Y Ahn

Paul Chace Wilcoxson

Ian E Schroeder

Steven J Plummer

Chace Wilcoxson

Gregory R Klempel

Daniel Saeil Martin

Scott Allen Boner

Steven Jay McAllister

Austin T McAnelly

Deborah A Fisher

Alicia Salcedo Medina

John A Minerich

Mary Leann Parker

Gregory P Freed

Steven Joseph Plummer

Garrett Charles Hanson

Ian Edward Schroeder

Darell Darwin Jones

Jonathan Young Ahn

Christopher Sanders

Composite laminate stiffeners such as stringers are punch formed between first and second universal dies respectively carried on first and second trays. The second tray is mounted for sliding movement relative to the first tray between a punch position and a compaction position. Parts of the first and second dies are easily reconfigurable, allowing different shapes of stiffeners to be formed on the same forming apparatus.

Stringer forming apparatus and method

There is provided an automated removal apparatus for selectively removing one or more trimmed portions of a laminated ply in a ply-by-ply fabrication process. The automated removal apparatus includes a rotatable reel having a plurality of retractable vacuum panels attached around the rotatable reel. Each retractable vacuum panel has one or more retractable vacuum pad assemblies, and each retractable vacuum pad assembly has a vacuum pad with a vacuum port and a self-sealing valve. The automated removal apparatus further includes actuator assemblies attached to the plurality of retractable vacuum panels, friction reducing elements attached around the rotatable reel, a drive assembly attached to the rotatable reel, and a pneumatic system attached to the rotatable reel and including a valve manifold operable to control an air flow to the actuator assemblies and to one or more vacuum generators to generate a vacuum flow.

Automated removal apparatus, system, and method for selectively removing trimmed portions of a laminated ply in a ply-by-ply fabrication process

Systems and methods are provided for utilizing stringer end caps. One embodiment is a method of forming a stringer. The method includes laying up a stringer preform comprising fiber-reinforced material, placing the stringer preform onto a skin panel preform, bonding an end cap to the stringer preform and the skin panel preform, and co-curing the stringer preform and the skin panel preform while the end cap is bonded to the stringer preform and the skin panel preform, resulting in a composite part that includes the end cap.

Method of forming flyaway stringer end caps

A composite charge is formed between two compression dies into a composite laminate stiffener. The stiffener is contoured along its length by contouring the dies. Wrinkle diffusers attached to, or embedded or incorporated into the tool surfaces of the dies, diffuse wrinkles formed on the inside radius of the stiffener during the contouring.

Wrinkle mitigation in contoured composite stiffeners

A method includes dispensing a first set of lanes, that each comprise a tow of fiber-reinforced material, at a first angle such that the lanes are placed side-by-side with respect to each other, forming a first layer of a multi-lane tow. The method further includes applying a film directly in contact with multi-lane tow that resists shear forces applied to the multi-lane tow, transporting the multi-lane tow to a mandrel, and compacting the multi-lane tow via a Ply-By-Ply (PBP) machine disposed at the mandrel. The method further comprises removing the film from the multi-lane tow.

Multi-lane tows for use with ply-by-ply forming machines

Systems and methods are provided for fabricating composite parts. One embodiment is a method for fabricating a composite part. The method includes forming a skin panel preform comprising fiber reinforced material, disposing rigid end caps at the skin panel preform at end locations of stringer preforms that will be placed at the skin panel, locating the stringer preforms at the skin panel preform via the rigid end caps, and anchoring the stringer preforms to the skin panel preform.

Flyaway stringer end caps

Aircraft that incorporates a rounded-hat composite stringer connected to an inner side of the skin of the aircraft to form an elongate conduit that defines a conduit axis, where the conduit axis includes at least one curving portion. The rounded-hat composite stringer can be manufactured by constructing a lower forming die and an upper forming die, each forming die having a length and defining a curve along at least a portion of the length of the die, cutting a pre-cured flat composite charge dimensioned to form the rounded-hat composite stringer, pressing the flat composite charge between the lower and upper forming dies to shape the composite charge into a pre-formed stringer having an inner side between curved fillet portions, contacting a forming member against the inner side of the pre-formed stringer, applying radius fillers to the curved fillet portions of the pre-formed stringer, curing the pre-formed stringer, and removing the forming member from the cured stringer.

Contoured composite stringers

A composite laminate stiffener is formed to contour with reduced ply wrinkling using constrained creep forming. The tooling apparatus is provided with flexible cauls which constrain the stiffener during the contour forming process. The creep forming is carried out at a slow enough rate so that friction or shear resistance between the resin and fibers of the plies remains low enough that slippage can occur and significant compression stresses are not generated rate, allowing relaxation of residual stresses in the stiffener.

Constrained creep forming of contoured composite stiffeners

Systems and methods are provided for composite part fabrication. One embodiment is a method for fabricating a composite part. The method includes selecting an end caul comprising a structure of sintered material surrounding volumes of unsintered particles, creating a laminate comprising fibers within a resin matrix, placing the end caul in contact with an end of the laminate, and processing the laminate.

3D printed end cauls for composite part fabrication

A composite structure including a composite body having an outer surface, wherein the composite body is elongated along a span axis, and a detection layer connected to the outer surface of the composite body, the detection layer including a plurality of strips, wherein each strip comprises a plurality of glass fibers embedded in a matrix material, is elongated along a detection axis, the detection axis being substantially aligned with the span axis, and is spaced a non-zero distance apart from adjacent strips such that a discontinuity is defined between adjacent strips.

Composite structure and method for barely visible impact damage detection

A flexible caul for applying pressure to a part comprises a caul member having a plurality of spaced apart gaps therein to provide the caul member with flexibility, and a flexible covering that limits flexing of the caul member.

Flexible caul and method of making the same

An apparatus is provided for forming a pleat of a vacuum bag into position over a stringer of an uncured skin panel. The apparatus comprises a leading shoe and a trailing shoe that cooperates with the leading shoe to form the pleat of the vacuum bag. The apparatus also comprises at least one roller assembly for compacting the formed pleat into position over the stringer.

Apparatus and method for operating a vacuum bagging machine to form a pleat of a vacuum bag

An example method for forming a flat composite charge into a composite blade stiffener includes cutting a flat composite charge along a cut line into a first piece and a second piece having an angle, positioning the first piece and the second piece of the flat composite charge on a forming mandrel about a tooling plunger, activating the tooling plunger to drive the first piece and the second piece into a cavity of the forming mandrel resulting in the first piece and the second piece folding at the cut line, withdrawing the tooling plunger from the cavity of the forming mandrel, compressing the forming mandrel to apply a lateral pressure to the first piece and the second piece folded into the cavity, and applying a vertical pressure to a first flange and a second flange of the first piece and the second piece, respectively, to form the composite blade stiffener.

Methods for forming a composite blade stiffener and facilitating application of barely visible impact damage treatments

Systems and methods are provided for divergent laminates. A method comprises providing a layup tool having a first upper face and a second upper face that rise to intersect each other at a ridge line, the layup tool further having a protrusion on top of a portion of the ridge line, and laying up a laminate onto the upper faces and the protrusion. The method also comprises placing a cure tool on top of the layup tool, the cure tool having a lower face that is dimensioned to mate with the upper faces along a portion of the ridge line that is not covered by the protrusion, thereby leaving a divergent flange of the laminate on top of the protrusion exposed, and sweeping the divergent flange of the laminate upward from the layup tool onto a vertical side the cure tool.

Formation of composite laminates having one or more divergent flanges

Growing community of inventors

Auburn, WA, United States of America

Lisa Christina Carlson