公开(公告)号：US20180154594A1

公开(公告)日：2018-06-07

申请号：US15568359

申请日：2016-04-25

Applicant: Composite Technology and Applications Limited

Inventor： Jonathan Paul Moram ,  Gary Wiles ,  Giovanni Antonio Marengo ,  Terence Mark Barton-Smith

IPC: B29C70/68 ,  B29C70/38 ,  B29C70/46

CPC classification number: B29C70/681 ,  B29C70/38 ,  B29C70/462 ,  B29C70/56 ,  B29K2307/04 ,  B29L2031/7504

Abstract: There is disclosed a method of forming a composite component having a curved body and an integral flange from a pre-form (200) using forming apparatus comprising: a tool (102) comprising a curved body portion (104) having a lay-up surface (110) and a forming assembly (105) comprising a plurality of forming elements (106) each having a lay-up surface (120) and a primary flange-forming surface (122); and a plurality of filler elements (107) each having a secondary flange-forming surface (156). The method comprises: providing a pre-form (200) over the lay-up surfaces (110, 120) of the curved body portion 104 and the forming elements (106) of the tool (102) in a layup configuration of the forming assembly (105); moving the forming elements (106) radially outwardly from the layup configuration to respective forming positions so that the forming elements (106) are circumferentially spaced apart from one another to form gaps therebetween; moving the filler elements (107) radially outwardly to respective forming positions in the circumferential gaps between the forming elements (106) so that the primary and secondary flange-forming surfaces (122, 156) form a substantially continuous flange-forming surface in a forming configuration of the forming assembly (105). Movement of the forming assembly (105) from the layup configuration to the forming configuration causes a region of the pre-form (200) to deform between the continuous flange-forming surface and a counteracting forming surface to form the integral flange of the component.