A method of manufacturing a coupler for an air suspension includes: preparing a topping cord sheet and a rubber band; connecting the topping cord sheet and the rubber band to each other by attaching the rubber band to an outer circumferential surface of the topping cord sheet; and vulcanizing an intermediately formed body made by the connecting of the topping cord sheet and the rubber band to each other.

A composite material structure manufacturing jig (10) is used when manufacturing a composite material structure by adhering prepreg to a framework structure including a frame component that includes a channel extending along a longitudinal direction of the frame component. The composite material structure manufacturing jig (10) is inserted in the channel of the frame component and used therein. The jig (10) includes a tubular body (11) formed of an elastic material containing a reinforcement fiber, the body (11) including a trapezoidal transverse section that is a cross section orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the body (11), the trapezoidal transverse section including an upper base and a lower base longer than the upper base. An inner surface of the body (11) is coated with an inner peripheral film (16) serving as a gas barrier layer.

A light weight composite deck panel comprising at least two pre-defined shaped and sized foams that are encapsulated with multiple layers of the bi-directionally and/or uni-directionally oriented synthetic glass fabric and the resin system and the encapsulated foams are arranged in a pre-defined configuration of the deck with at least one joint; said composite deck panel is cured. A process and assembly for manufacturing the light weight composite deck panels of the invention is disclosed.

A forming assembly configured to form a wick is disclosed. The forming assembly includes an expandable tube and a forming shell assembly. The expandable tube is hydraulically expandable to an expanded configuration. A wick mesh is configured to be wrapped about the expandable tube. The forming shell assembly includes a first forming shell comprising a first recess defined therein and a second forming shell comprising a second recess defined therein. The first recess and the second recess cooperate to define an outer diameter of the wick. The expandable tube and the wick mesh are positionable between the first recess and the second recess. The expandable tube and the forming shell assembly are configured to deform the wick mesh and form the wick based on the expandable tube hydraulically expanding towards the expanded configuration.

Systems and methods are provided for designing composite parts. One embodiment is a laminate shear forming machine configured to shape a composite charge. The laminate shear forming machine includes a layup mandrel including a surface for shaping the composite charge, forming members configured to press the composite charge against the surface of the layup mandrel to shape the composite charge, and pressure sensing strips configured to measure pressure between the forming members and the composite charge. The laminate shear forming machine also includes a forming controller coupled to the pressure sensing strips and configured to determine that at least one forming member is applying pressure to the composite charge outside a pressure range, and to direct the at least one forming member to adjust from a first position to a second position to apply pressure to the composite charge within the pressure range.

A method of fabricating a composite structure includes laying at least one composite ply about a bladder, the bladder comprising a phase change material in a first phase having a first volume, positioning an outer mold about the bladder and the at least one composite ply, and curing the at least one composite ply to form the composite structure. Curing causes the phase change material contained within the bladder to change to a second phase to expand from the first volume to a second volume and apply a pressure to an interior surface of the composite ply and press an outer surface of the composite ply against the outer mold to form an interior cavity. The bladder is not removable from the formed interior cavity.

A method of fabricating a composite structure includes laying at least one composite ply about a bladder, the bladder comprising a phase change material in a first phase having a first volume, positioning an outer mold about the bladder and the at least one composite ply, and curing the at least one composite ply to form the composite structure. Curing causes the phase change material contained within the bladder to change to a second phase to expand from the first volume to a second volume and apply a pressure to an interior surface of the composite ply and press an outer surface of the composite ply against the outer mold to form an interior cavity. The bladder is not removable from the formed interior cavity.

Prior to curing a composite workpiece assembly, an expandable element can be inserted into a cavity of the workpiece assembly. The expandable element is configured to expand when a predetermined change is produced in an attribute of the element. The attribute can be a temperature of the element. The element is expanded by producing the predetermined change, and the workpiece assembly is cured while the expanded element is in the cavity, so that the expanded element applies positive pressure to inner surfaces of the cavity during curing. The expanded element can be removed from the cavity after curing. The expanded element can comprise a plurality of expandable pellets.

A golf club with a multi-material face is disclosed herein. More specifically, the golf club head in accordance with the present invention has a multi-material striking face portion that is made out of a backing layer having a frontal pocket, made out of titanium, and an insert, made out of a composite material, adapted to be inserted into the frontal pocket. The frontal pocket and the insert could have complementary dovetail shaped undercut features to create a mechanical bond between these two components.

A golf club with a multi-material face is disclosed herein. More specifically, the golf club head in accordance with the present invention has a multi-material striking face portion that is made out of a backing layer having a frontal pocket, made out of titanium, and an insert, made out of a composite material, adapted to be inserted into the frontal pocket. The frontal pocket and the insert could have complementary dovetail shaped undercut features to create a mechanical bond between these two components.