An apparatus for molding a part includes a plunger cavity, a plunger, and a mold cavity, wherein the plunger is oriented out-of-plane with respect to a major surface of the mold cavity, and first and second vents couples to respective first and second portions of the mold cavity. In a method, resin and fiber are forced into the mold cavity from a plunger cavity, and at least some of the fibers and resin are preferentially flowed to certain region in the mold cavity via the use of vents.

Systems and techniques to provide a flexible, lightweight material that is also effective at protecting a body from ballistic threats are described. An example composite material described herein is fiber-based, and it includes one or more first regions where the fiber composite material is consolidated, and one or more second regions where the fiber composite material is unconsolidated. Example methods of manufacturing the composite material disclosed herein include using a specialized tool with a heated platen press or an autoclave. The tool may include one or more protrusions and/or cavities that contact a precursor composite material to transform the precursor material into a partially consolidated fiber composite material, which is suitable for use as body armor, among other potential applications for the manufactured composite material.

A method for designing fiber-composite parts in which part performance and manufacturing efficiency can be traded-off against one another to provide an “optimized” design for a desired use case. In some embodiments, the method involves generating an idealized fiber map, wherein the orientation of fibers throughout the prospective part align with the anticipated load conditions throughout the part, and then modifying the idealized fiber map by various fabrication constraints to generate a process-compensated preform map.

A roof module for a motor vehicle comprises an RTM frame and a Class-A covering layer, which at least partially covers the frame and is made of polyurethane. A method for manufacturing a roof module comprises the following steps: Initially, a fiber mat is put into a first mold. Then, a reactive resin system is introduced into the closed mold and the resin cures, so that a blank is formed. The blank is put into a second mold, into which subsequently polyurethane is introduced in the open condition. The polyurethane expands, wherein it at least partially forms a Class-A surface.

A case for a gas turbine engine includes a containment section with a plurality of unidirectional roving fiber layers and a plurality of non-crimp fabric layers. A method of manufacturing the case includes winding the plurality of unidirectional roving fiber layers around the plurality of non-crimp fabric layers.

A composite material blade molding method is for molding a composite material blade by curing a prepreg. The composite material blade has a back-side blade member and a belly-side blade member which are superposed and joined. The composite material blade molding method includes: a lamination step for forming a back-side laminate in a back-side molding die and forming a belly-side laminate in a belly-side molding die; an inner surface cowl plate disposition step for disposing an inner surface cowl plate for maintaining an inner space formed by the back-side laminate and the belly-side laminate; a die mating step for die-mating the back-side molding die and the belly-side molding die and disposing a foaming agent in the inner space maintained by the inner surface cowl plate; and a curing step for heating and expanding the foaming agent and heat-curing the back-side laminate and the belly-side laminate.

Disclosed is a method for producing components from fiber-reinforced thermoplastic on the basis of fiber tapes impregnated with matrix material. The method includes manufacturing a multitude of semi-finished products, each of which has a plurality of non-consolidated layers of fiber tapes. The semi-finished products are placed in a consolidation device in such a way that the semi-finished products are in direct contact with one another. The semi-finished products are then consolidated using the consolidation device and the semi-finished products are at least partially joined to one another during the consolidation process. The joined semi-finished products are then cut apart using a cutting device.

A method for manufacturing a blade made of composite material for a turbine engine, in particular of an aircraft, the steps of injecting a resin in order to impregnate a fibrous preform woven in three dimensions and polymerizing the resin so as to form the blade that includes an airfoil, one longitudinal end of which is connected to a platform. The platform includes pressure and suction portions connected to the airfoil by a fillet, wherein a separation is formed in the fibrous preform between the pressure and suction portions. The method further includes reinforcing a leading edge of the airfoil; and reinforcing the fillets by integration of a metal reinforcement on at least one part of the pressure and suction portions of the platform and in the separation.

The present invention relates to a composite material comprising one or more fibre layers composed of a fibre material and an aromatic polycarbonate-based matrix material. The fibre layer(s) is/are embedded in the matrix material. The present invention further relates to a process for producing these fibre composite materials, to multilayer composite materials comprising several layers of fibre composite material, and to the use of the composite materials for production of components or housing components or housings, and to the components, housing components or housings themselves.

This relates to a composite structural element, in particular a rib or a spar, specifically for use in a torsion box of an aircraft structure such as a vertical tailplane, wherein the structural element defines a coordinate system with a first axis “a” wherein the structural element comprises a substantially planar main section defining a coordinate system with a first axis “a” extending along the longitudinal axis “L” of the structural element and a second axis “b” extending perpendicular to said longitudinal axis “L” within the planar main section and defining an angle of +90° with the first axis “a”, wherein the structural element contains a lay-up of single plies consisting of a fiber-reinforced composite material with a substantially unidirectional fiber orientation.