Method for impregnating a preform with resin utilizing a caul plate having a channel for distributing resin
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsMax Osborne, Jason McBain
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods for fabricating composite parts. One embodiment is a method that includes selecting a caul plate having a body and a trough disposed at a side of the body which defines a channel that hangs beneath the body, the caul plate further having an opening disposed between the trough and the lower surface to form a fluid pathway for resin within the channel to exit into a preform. The method also includes placing the caul plate atop a preform of dry fiber and aligning the channel with a periphery of the preform, placing resin into the trough, and impregnating the preform with resin from the trough.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- selecting a caul plate having a body and a trough disposed at a side of the body which defines a channel that hangs beneath the body, the caul plate further having an opening disposed between the trough and a lower surface of the body to form a fluid pathway for resin within the channel to exit into a preform;
- placing the caul plate atop a preform of dry fiber and aligning the channel with a periphery of the preform;
- placing resin into the trough;
- and
- impregnating the preform with resin from the trough.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.