Airbus Operations Gmbh

Simon W Topping

Risto Kallinen

Martin Edwards

Nils Haack

Xavier Hue

Christopher Payne

Llifon Williams

David Belfourd

Martin Mayneord

A method of manufacturing a composite element. A stack of plies is assembled on a lay-up table, each ply comprising a plurality of reinforcement elements such as dry-fibers. A first part of the stack of plies is bound to form a partially bound stack of plies, a second part of the stack of plies remaining unbound. The partially bound stack of plies is press-formed in a mold cavity between a pair of mold tools to form a shaped pre-form, plies in the second part of the stack sliding against each other during the press-forming. A liquid matrix material is injected into the shaped pre-form in the mold cavity and subsequently cured.

Apparatus for manufacturing a composite element

An aircraft wing has a main wing element with a spar and a leading edge rib supported by the spar, a high lift device movably mounted to the main wing element, and an actuation mechanism with a drive shaft and a gear train. The gear train has a drive cog carried by the drive shaft, an actuator cog coupled to the high lift device, and one or more intermediate cogs mounted to the rib and coupled in series with the drive cog and the actuator cog so as to transmit torque from the drive cog to the actuator cog which moves the high lift device between a retracted position and an extended position in which the high lift device increases the camber of the wing. Sizes of the cogs in the gear train are selected so that the drive shaft rotates at a higher rate than the high lift device.

Leading edge rib assembly

Method of manufacturing a composite element

Growing community of inventors

Bristol, United Kingdom

Simon W Topping