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US 9,844,904 B2Granted
Formation of thermoplastic parts
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorAndrew Roy Hackett, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus is presented. A portion is cut from a thermoplastic sheet of a first thermoplastic material based on a three dimensional model. The portion is secured to a mold. The portion and the mold are heated under vacuum to form a structure. The structure may take the form of a protective covering. In some illustrative examples, the mold may be formed of a second thermoplastic material based on the three dimensional model using additive manufacturing.
Claims5
A method comprising:
- identifying a surface of a part from a three dimensional model of the part;
- designing a surface shape for a mold surface based on the three dimensional model;
- modifying the surface shape to form a modified surface shape;
- forming a mold based on the modified surface shape using additive manufacturing;
- designing a flat shape based on the three dimensional model, wherein the flat shape approximates at least part of a geometric net of the three dimensional model;
- cutting the flat shape from a thermoplastic sheet to form a portion;
- securing the portion to the mold;
- and
- heating the portion and the mold under vacuum to form a structure.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.