According to one implementation, a preform shaping method for producing a preform having a web, a flange, and a chamfered portion includes: pressing a first portion of a laminated body of fiber sheets by sandwiching the first portion between a first mold and a second mold; and pressing a second portion of the laminated body of the fiber sheets after pressing the first portion. The first portion corresponds to the web. The second portion corresponds to the flange. The first mold fits a surface in one side of the web, an inner surface of the chamfered portion and a surface in one side of the flange. The second mold fits a surface in the other side of the web. The second portion is pressed by sandwiching the second portion between the first mold and a third mold.

A reservoir provided in a hard-point fixture is pre-loaded with a curable adhesive, where the reservoir is protected from the curing radiation. The fixture is placed on a target surface and the adhesive is extruded from the reservoir into a space between the fixture and the target surface. An irradiating device to cure the adhesive is provided in the fixture and activated to couple the fixture to the surface. Once the curing process is complete, the fixture is released from the placement system leaving the fixture affixed to the target surface.

The present disclosure relates systems and methods for treating various materials, such as carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), with a Joule heating process so as to reduce or eliminate a risk of sparks or explosion due to lightning strikes. The disclosure also relates to an aircraft component with structures that have undergone a Joule heating process by way of the systems and methods described herein. An example method includes providing an electrode array having a first and second electrode set. Each of the electrode sets includes one or more disk-shaped electrodes that are arranged in an interdigitated, concentric stack about a central axis. The method also includes causing the electrode array to contact a conductive material. The method additionally includes causing a current source to provide electrical current through the first electrode set and the second electrode set so as to heat at least a portion of a conductive material.

A hard-point fixture placement system places a fixture that is pre-loaded with a curable adhesive by mechanically extruding the adhesive between the fixture and a target surface to which the fixture is to be attached. The placement system includes an irradiating device to cure the adhesive. The hard-point fixture stores the adhesive in a reservoir that is protected from the curing radiation. Once the curing process is complete, the fixture is released from the placement system leaving the fixture affixed to the target surface.

A method of making a part comprising stacking a plurality of uncured composite sheets to form an uncured composite stack. The method also comprises interposing a resistor wire between an adjacent two of the uncured composite sheets of the uncured composite stack. The method further comprises applying heat to the uncured composite stack externally of the uncured composite stack to at least partially cure the plurality of uncured composite sheets. The method additionally comprises transmitting an electric current through the resistor wire to generate heat, from the resistor wire, internally within the uncured composite stack to at least partially cure the plurality of uncured composite sheets. Applying heat to the uncured composite stack externally and generating heat internally converts the plurality of uncured composite sheets into a plurality of cured composite sheets and converts the uncured composite stack into a cured composite stack.

A tensioning system that can be used with a heater blanket and a vacuum bag for heating a workpiece can include a tensioner including at least one flexible rod. The tensioner can further include an end cap positioned on one or both ends of the flexible rod. The tensioner can be inserted through one or more sleeves attached to the vacuum bag, and each end of the flexible rod can be positioned within a pocket and thereby attached to the vacuum bag. In one implementation, the flexible rod can be rotated relative to the one or more end caps to decrease or increase a length of the tensioner, and the length of the tensioner is thereby adjustable. The tension applied to the vacuum bag can mitigate sealing of a seal of the vacuum bag with a layup mandrel.

Layers of composite material, such as pre-peg, may be deposited on a reconfigurable polymer mold. An array of actuated pins may deform the polymer mold into a desired 3D shape. The composite material may be inside a cavity formed by the mold and a flexible bag. A vacuum pump may remove air from the cavity, creating a partial vacuum. The partial vacuum may cause the flexible bag to press the composite tightly against the mold, so that the composite conforms to the desired 3D shape. One or more heating elements may be embedded in the mold and may heat the composite to cure the composite. Ball joints may connect the actuated pins to the polymer mold.

An apparatus for processing an elongated structure includes a mold within which an uncross-linked rubber material is placed, at least one heating unit configured to heat the mold, and a pressure device configured to press the rubber material using the mold heated by the heating unit to promote shaping the rubber material by the mold while proceeding the cross-linking of the rubber material. The heating unit includes a central heating device configured to heat a longitudinal central portion of the mold, multiple cooling devices configured to cool two longitudinal end portions of the mold, multiple intermediate heating devices configured to heat two intermediate portions between the longitudinal central portion and the longitudinal end portions of the mold, heat shield plates disposed between the central heating device and the intermediate heating devices, and heat shield plates disposed between the cooling devices and the intermediate heating devices.

Caul plates and related methods are disclosed herein. An example caul plate for use in a composite laminate layup includes a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface. The example caul plate includes protrusions extending from the first surface. The protrusions are disposed over a tool surface of the composite laminate layup. The protrusions are to define a gap between the first surface and the tool surface to limit a thickness of a preform disposed between the tool surface and the first surface when a pressure is exerted on the second surface.

A heating blanket (18), useful for debulking and/or curing composite materials, comprising at least one heating element comprising a carbon nanotube (CNT) structured layer defining an electrically conductive pathway having a first end and a second end and a first electrical terminal (19) electrically coupled to the first end and a second electrical terminal (21) electrically coupled to the second end, and an elastomeric outer covering, encasing the at least one heating element, wherein the at least one heating element is responsive to an electromotive force applied across the first and the second electrical terminals to produce heat.