The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 23, 2024
Filed:
Feb. 03, 2022
The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US);
Richard E. Heath, III, Chicago, IL (US);
Richard A. Prause, Chicago, IL (US);
The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US);
Abstract
An example mandrel for processing a part is described including a plurality of elastomeric components aligned end to end and spaced apart linearly to form a segmented mandrel body, and compressible interconnections positioned within spacing between adjacent elastomeric components and abutting the adjacent elastomeric components. The compressible interconnections allow the plurality of elastomeric components to expand axially due to thermal expansion resulting in a distribution of pressure. An example method for fabricating a composite part is also described including placing a base composite layer into a cavity of a tooling surface, inserting a mandrel into the cavity of the tooling surface such that the base composite layer is between the mandrel and the tooling surface, applying a skin to the mandrel and the base composite layer forming a package, enclosing the package in a vacuum bag and curing, and removing the mandrel from the cavity of the tooling surface.