Modular thermoforming system
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsKaren L. Hills, Sergio H. Sanchez, Douglas Alan Brown, Jason Christopher Lail, Michael John Cloud, Jason Turner, Richard V. Phillips, Robert Cook, Hun Sok Basom, DeWayne F. Wendt
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thermoforming system and related methods for manufacturing thermoplastic parts, such as interior panels for aircraft, may include a roll-to-roll operation and a forming press having at least one selectively rotatable tool. The rotatable tool, which may include a mold and/or a die, may be multifaceted, such that different faces of the tool have different mold arrangements for different forming characteristics.
Claims20
A method of forming a molded thermoplastic part along a continuous processing path, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving a continuous web of thermoplastic material from a thermoplastic source station at an upstream end of the continuous processing path;
- feeding the continuous web of thermoplastic material into a preheating oven downstream from the thermoplastic source station to form a continuous web of preheated thermoplastic material;
- feeding the continuous web of preheated thermoplastic material into a forming press at a pressing station to form a pressed thermoplastic part downstream from the preheating oven, wherein the forming press comprises a first tool and a second tool, wherein at least the first tool comprises a rotary tool having multiple faces and each of the faces has a different mold configuration and the second tool having a mold shape configured to mate with the mold configuration on at least one of the faces of the first tool,
- rotating the first tool to change which face is directed toward the second tool, while the second tool remains fixed;
- pressing the continuous web of preheated thermoplastic material between the first and second tools at the pressing station;
- cooling the continuous web of preheated thermoplastic material downstream from the pressing station to form a continuous web of cooled thermoplastic material;
- cutting a molded thermoplastic part from the continuous web of cooled thermoplastic material;
- and
- finishing the molded thermoplastic part at a finishing station at a downstream end of the continuous processing path.
A method of forming a thermoplastic molded shape, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) feeding a continuous web of thermoplastic material into a preheating oven to form a continuous web of preheated thermoplastic material;
- (b) feeding the continuous web of preheated thermoplastic material into a forming press, wherein the forming press comprises a first tool and a second tool, wherein the first tool comprises a multifaceted rotary press tool and the second tool comprises a multifaceted rotary mold tool, such that at least a face of the first tool is configured to mate with a face of the second tool to form the forming press;
- (c) rotating the first tool to an operational first position to form the forming press having a first mold shape;
- (d) moving the first tool towards the second tool;
- (e) stopping the feeding steps;
- (f) pressing a first section of the continuous web of preheated thermoplastic material between the first and second tools to form a thermoplastic molded part on the continuous web of preheated thermoplastic material with the first mold shape;
- (g) moving the first tool away from the second tool to open the forming press;
- (h) cooling the continuous web of preheated thermoplastic material with the first mold shape to form a continuous web of cooled thermoplastic material;
- (i) removing the thermoplastic molded part having the first mold shape from the continuous web of cooled thermoplastic material;
- (j) moving an adjacent section of the continuous web of thermoplastic material into the forming press;
- and
- (k) repeating steps (c) to (j) with different operational positions to form thermoplastic molded parts with different mold shapes on adjacent sections of the continuous web of thermoplastic material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.