Expandable tooling systems and methods
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsJonathan A. Santiago, Xiaoxi Wang, Gary Ernest Georgeson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods of manufacturing composite workpieces that include adding an expandable element to an internal volume of a constraining container proximate to a uncured composite workpiece supported on a rigid form, where the expandable element is configured to expand when a predetermined change is produced in an attribute of the expandable element; expanding the expandable element by producing the predetermined change in the attribute of the expandable element, so that an expansion of the expandable element applies pressure to the workpiece supported on the rigid form within the internal volume, and curing the composite workpiece while the resulting pressure is applied to the workpiece supported on the rigid form.
Claims20
An apparatus for curing a composite workpiece, comprising:
- a constraining container, enclosing:
- a rigid form having a surface defining a desired shape of the workpiece,
- pellets configured to expand to a predetermined volume when a predetermined change is produced in an attribute of the pellets, such that the expanded pellets apply positive pressure to the workpiece and an inner surface of the constraining container, and
- a contractible element configured to volumetrically contract when a predetermined change is produced in an attribute of the contractible element, the contractible element including a bladder containing a fluid.
An apparatus for curing a composite workpiece, comprising:
- a constraining container, enclosing:
- a rigid form having a surface defining a desired shape of the workpiece, one or more thermally-activated expandable elements configured to expand to a predetermined volume when a temperature of the elements is raised to at least a predetermined temperature, such that the expanded elements apply positive pressure to the workpiece and an inner surface of the constraining container, and
- a heat-generating substance, configured to heat the thermally-activated expandable element to at least the predetermined temperature.
A system, comprising:
- a composite workpiece having a plurality of composite layers, disposed on an upper surface of a rigid form and enclosed in a constraining container,
- wherein:
- the rigid form is supported by a lower wall of the constraining container, the upper surface defining a desired shape of the composite workpiece,
- the constraining container further encloses a plurality of bags, each bag containing expandable pellets configured to expand to a predetermined volume when a predetermined change is produced in an attribute of the expandable pellets, such that the expanded pellets apply positive pressure to the workpiece and an inner surface of the constraining container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.