Method for actively cooling and supporting components during thermoplastic composite welding

A method for thermoplastic composite welding, the method comprising:

• placing a first composite part onto a surface of a tooling, wherein the tooling comprises at least one opening, wherein the first composite part has a bottom surface and a top surface and wherein said placing the first composite part comprises placing the first composite part so that the bottom surface is supported against the tooling and the top surface side faces away from the tooling;
• placing a second composite part onto the first composite, such that the first composite is sandwiched between the surface of the tooling and the second composite, wherein the second composite part has a bottom surface and a top surface and wherein said placing the second composite part comprises placing the second composite part so that the bottom surface of the second composite part faces the top surface of the first composite part and the top surface of the second composite part faces away from the first composite part;
• providing a flow of air or gas through the at least one opening, with the flow of air or gas impinging on a bottom surface of the first composite part, wherein the flow of air or gas is sufficient to press the first composite part toward the second composite part;
• and
• induction welding the second composite part to the first composite part by applying induction heating while the flow of air is provided through the at least one opening, wherein said applying induction heading comprises pressing an induction welding end effector downward onto the top surface of the second composite part to apply downward pressure onto the first composite part and the second composite to promote intimate contact between the top surface of the first composite part and the bottom surface of the second composite part while passing an electric current through an induction coil of the induction welding end effector;
• wherein said providing the flow of air or gas convectively cools the bottom surface of the first composite part from below while the inductive heating is simultaneously provided via the induction welding end effector from above the top surface of the second composite part.