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US 4,780,262 AGranted
Method for making composite structures
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorArthur D. VonVolkli
Life of this patent
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AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorArthur D. VonVolkli
Estimating the term…
A flexible rubber boot that transmits molding pressure to the inner surface of the structure to be molded is placed on a support fixture. The boot is held in place by a vacuum applied between the fixture and the boot. Prepregs are laid up on the boot to the desired depth and in a desired configuration. A female mold assembly, consisting of two sections, is then placed over the prepreg material and sealed to the boot. A vacuum is applied to the sealed region between the mold and boot, compressing the material against the interior of the mold that defines the outer surface of the structure. The assembly of boot, mold, and material is then placed in an autoclave. After the material has cured, the finished structure is separated from the mold and boot. The tooling is reusable and the process completed easily, allowing the efficient fabrication of structure having smooth inner and outer surfaces.
A method of fabricating fabric-reinforced, unitary composite structures having precisely molded exterior surfaces, the method comprising:
A method of molding a radome using a plurality of layers of prepreg material so that the radome has an aerodynamically smooth outer surface, the method comprising:
A method for molding a radome using a plurality of layers of prepreg material so that the radome has an aerodynamically smooth outer surface, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.