Flexible tooling system and method for manufacturing of composite structures
AssigneeDivergent Technologies, Inc.
InventorsThomas Samuel Bowden, JR., Jon Paul Gunner, Antonio Bernerd Martinez, Ian Hawthorn Ashdown
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Abstract
A system and method is provided for manufacturing a composite structure. In an exemplary aspect, the system includes multiple flexible tooling plates that are interlocked to each other to form a tooling surface for forming a composite structure to be manufactured. Moreover, the system includes an actuator array connected to the flexible plates and that can move the flexible plates relative to each other to adjust a contour of the tooling surface to correspond to a design contour of the composite structure to be manufactured.
Claims36
A method for manufacturing a composite structure, the method comprising:
- storing, in electronic memory, a design contour for at least one surface of a composite structure to be manufactured;
- adjusting a plurality of actuators coupled to a plurality of plates interlocked with each other to define a tooling surface that corresponds to the at least one surface of the composite structure to be manufactured;
- applying a composite material to the tooling surface defined by the adjusted plurality of interlocked plates;
- and
- curing the composite material to form the composite structure.
A system for manufacturing a composite structure, the system comprising:
- a plurality of flexible plates interlocked to each other to form a tooling surface for forming a composite structure to be manufactured;
- and
- a plurality of actuators coupled to the plurality of flexible plates and configured to move the plurality of flexible plates relative to each other to adjust a contour of the tooling surface to correspond to a design contour of the composite structure to be manufactured.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.