The Boeing Company

Other

Theboeing Company

Hot Metal Gas Forming Intellectual Property, Inc.

Hot Metal Gas Forming IP 2, Inc.

Th Boeing Company

Marc Rollo Matsen

Robert James Miller

Mark Alan Negley

William Chet Dykstra

Lee Charles Firth

Jeffery Lee Marcoe

Ronald W Brown

Paul S Gregg

David S Nansen

Christopher John Hottes

James M Kestner

John Ralph Hull

Stephen G Moore

Landon Keith Henson

Gregory Alan Foltz

Brad Lee Kirkwood

Karl A Hansen, Deceased

Wesley B Crow

Cameron Kai-Ming Chen

Kim E Peterson

Douglas Alan McCarville

William Preston Geren

Jennifer Sue Noel

John R Fischer

Carey E Wilkinson

Bret A Voss

Howard E Martinson

Robert W Snyder

John A Mittleider

Waeil M Ashmawi

John J deJong, Executor

Arun Ayyagari

Kay Youngdahl Blohowiak

Aaron William Bartel

Sahrudine Apdalhaliem

Kevin Yong Ung

David B Blackwell

Randall Dow Wilkerson

Brett Ian Lyons

Alexander Rubin

Geoffrey Allen Butler

Charles Richard Prebil

Craig Farris Battles

Tunde Abiodun Olaniyan

Terry L Smith

Gary E Georgeson

Max Urban Kismarton

Thomas Karl Tsotsis

Richard Henry Bossi

Brice Aaron Johnson

James Rodney Fox

George D Pfaffmann

Marc Joel Piehl

Everett A Westerman

Karl Marius Nelson

Vyacheslav Khozikov

Donald A Anderson

Jeffrey Hayden Olberg

Moushumi Shome

Stephen Roger Amorosi

William John Koch, Iv

John F Spalding

Robert A Anderson

Gary W Coleman

Juris Verzemnieks

William Phillip Coop

Larry Dean Hefti

Andrew M Hopkins

Michael M Stepan

Gregory James Schoepen Hickman

Charles W Newquist

Donald K Dabelstein

Mark E King

Alexandra K Dillon

Timothy J Luchini

Gregory J Hickman

Alan Edgar Landmann

Rangasamy Elangovan

Liam S Cavanaugh Pingree

Jaime C Garcia

Donald John Sutkus, Jr

Morteza Safai

James J Troy

Scott Wesley Lea

Kurtis Shuldberg Willden

Diane C Rawlings

Michael Strasik

Brian J Smith

Jason Philip Bommer

Adriana Willempje Blom-Schieber

Charles Michael Richards

Jeffrey M Hansen

John F Spalding, Jr

Noel Timothy Gerken

Everette Desmond Gray

Richard Neil Blair

David Eric Gideon

Luis R Leon

Robert Graham Albers

Ravi Verma

Methods and a double vacuum processing system are presented. A double vacuum processing system comprises a first vacuum zone; a second vacuum zone encompassing the first vacuum zone; a first vacuum pump connected to the first vacuum zone and configured to draw a vacuum within the first vacuum zone; a second vacuum pump connected to the second vacuum zone and configured to draw a vacuum within the second vacuum zone; and a diverter valve. The diverter valve is configured to alternate between pneumatically connecting the first vacuum zone to the second vacuum pump or connecting the first vacuum zone to the first vacuum pump.

Double vacuum debulk processing

An induction curing system comprises a slip sheet and a power supply. The slip sheet comprises a layup surface configured to receive a composite material, a tool interface surface configured to interface with an upper surface of a tool, a rigid body extending between the layup surface and the tool interface surface, and an induction coil circuit within the rigid body of the slip sheet. The induction coil circuit is configured to heat the layup surface to a temperature sufficient to cure the composite material. The induction coil circuit has a diameter selected to generate heat using a power supply having a frequency below 150 kHz. The rigid body is configured to support the composite material during transport of the composite material. The power supply is coupled with the induction coil circuit, the power supply is selected based on the diameter of the induction coil circuit.

Inductively heated slip sheet and methods of using

A thin, lightweight control surface is fabricated by induction consolidation of thermoplastic components. The control surface includes a forward section co-consolidated with a rear section. The front section includes a cover and the rear section includes a truss core covered by an outer skin.

Method of making a control surface

A method and apparatus for forming a composite structure. An inner tooling, a stackup, and an outer tooling are held in place together using a load constraint. A bladder and a plurality of stringer bladders in the stackup are pressurized to cause expansion of the bladder and the plurality of stringer bladders, thereby pushing together an overbraided thermoplastic skin and a plurality of overbraided thermoplastic members in the stackup. The overbraided thermoplastic skin and the plurality of overbraided thermoplastic members are co-consolidated while the bladder and the plurality of stringer bladders are pressurized to form the composite structure.

Method and apparatus for forming a composite fuselage structure

Stiffened skin panels comprise alternating truss core portions and solid laminate portions sandwiched between inner and outer facesheets, all formed from a fiber reinforced thermoplastic. The components of the panels are co-consolidated using induction heating. The panels are stiffened with spars fastened to the solid laminate portions.

Thermoplastic skin panels, torque box and method

A composite forming apparatus includes an end effector, a forming feature that is coupled to the end effector, and a heating element that is coupled to the forming feature to heat the forming feature. The end effector moves the forming feature relative to a composite ply to form the composite ply over a forming tool or over a prior formed composite ply. The forming feature heats the composite ply via conduction.

Composite forming apparatus, system and method

Disclosed herein is a method of forming a multi-layered metallic part. The method comprises stacking at least two metallic layers, each made of a metallic material having a ductility, to form a multi-layered metallic assembly. The method also comprises interposing a diffusion-bond preventing element directly between adjacent ones of the at least two metallic layers of the multi-layered metallic assembly. The method further comprises diffusion bonding the at least two metallic layers to each other at locations other than a location contiguous with the diffusion-bond preventing element to produce a multi-layered metallic part having a non-bonded region between the at least two metallic layers at the location of the diffusion-bond preventing element.

Method for forming non-bonded regions in multi-layered metallic armor

A method and system for heating a material includes an induction coil, a susceptor providing a receptacle, where the receptacle is configured to receive the material, and at least one nozzle for ejecting a heated gas onto and/or into the material. During the method, the susceptor is heated by the induction coil, and thermal energy from the susceptor can be transferred to the material. In addition to being heated by heat from the susceptor, the material is also heated by the heated gas, thereby increasing a heating rate of the material to rapidly heat the material to a processing temperature. The system can include other components such as a gas source, at least one conduit that channels gas from the gas source to the at least one nozzle, and a heat source that heats the gas prior to ejecting the gas from the at least one nozzle.

Charge heating method and systems for induction molding

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

An apparatus includes a first electrode exhibiting a first Seebeck coefficient, a second electrode exhibiting a second Seebeck coefficient greater than the first Seebeck coefficient, and particles between the first and second electrodes exhibiting a third Seebeck coefficient between the first and second Seebeck coefficients. An alternating current power supply is electrically connected to the first and second electrodes. Heat is generated due to the Peltier effect at a junction between the first electrode and the particles and at a junction between the second electrode and the particles. Heat is removed due to the Peltier effect at the junction between the first electrode and the particles and at the junction between the second electrode and the particles. The particles are densified due to heating and cooling phase transitions between a higher-temperature solid phase and a lower-temperature solid phase while compressing the particles.

Densification methods and apparatuses

Cookware, and an induction cooking system including the cookware, include a container, a base layer, and a susceptor layer. The container and the base layer are non-magnetic at room temperature, while the susceptor layer is magnetic at room temperature and has a Curie temperature at which the susceptor layer becomes non-magnetic. During heating of a material within the container, the base layer functions as a passive heat exchange to transfer heat across the susceptor layer. Further, during the heating, the base layer conducts an electric current when the susceptor layer approaches a leveling temperature and/or the Curie temperature of the susceptor layer, thereby decreasing an amount of heat produced and resulting in a more even heating of the material.

Induction cookware with bi-metallic smart susceptor

A first tooling die and a second tooling die are movable with respect to each other. The first tooling die and the second tooling die form a die cavity. The first tooling die and the second tooling die comprise a plurality of stacked metal sheets. A plurality of air gaps is defined between adjacent stacked metal sheets. A first smart susceptor material is within the die cavity and connected to the first tooling die. The first smart susceptor material has a first Curie temperature. A second smart susceptor material is within the die cavity and associated with the second tooling die. The second smart susceptor material has a second Curie temperature lower than the first Curie temperature. A flexible membrane is between the second tooling die and the first smart susceptor material. The flexible membrane is configured to receive pressure.

Induction forming and curing of thermoset composite charges

A method and apparatus for forming a composite structure. A plurality of consolidated overbraided thermoplastic preforms are co-consolidated in a circumferential stackup that is circumferentially constrained. Fibers of the plurality of consolidated overbraided thermoplastic preforms are tensioned during co-consolidation.

A method and apparatus for tacking and trimming a thermoplastic tow. A thermoplastic tow is received from a braiding system over a braided structure on a surface. The thermoplastic tow is tack welded to the braided structure. A portion of the thermoplastic tow is trimmed to thereby trim the thermoplastic tow received over the braided structure.

Heating apparatus and methods for thermally processing a part including improved control of temperature. A thermal management system is coupled to a back surface of a table thermally coupled to an inductive heating circuit. The thermal management system includes a chamber defining an interior space, at least one cooling fin disposed within the chamber, an inlet extending through the chamber and fluidly communicating with the interior space, and an outlet extending through the chamber and fluidly communicating with the interior space. In some applications, an air source fluidly communicates with the inlet and is selectively operable to generate an air flow through the chamber, so that the thermal management system may be selectively operated in an insulator mode and a cooling mode.

Smart susceptor induction heating apparatus and methods having improved temperature control

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Marc Rollo Matsen