Method for fabricating thermoplastic composite parts
A system and method for forming a composite part. The apparatus comprises a sleeve that molds a composite material. The sleeve has a first face and a second face. The second face has features to mold the composite material. The first face comprises a first inclined surface having an angle less than about 90 degrees and greater than about 0 degrees.
1. A method comprising:
installing an inclined sleeve over an inclined die such that a first inclined surface of the inclined sleeve engages a second inclined surface of the inclined die;
placing a shim between the inclined sleeve and the inclined die, wherein placing the shim comprises positioning the shim such that the inclined die contacts the shim and a first face of the inclined sleeve to impart a substantially uniform pressure to a multiple ply stack, wherein the multiple ply stack contacts a second face of the inclined sleeve;
securing the inclined sleeve to the inclined die, wherein securing the inclined sleeve to the inclined die comprises holding the inclined sleeve in place relative to the inclined die using a number of connectors and wherein the number of connectors is substantially rhombus-shaped; and
feeding the multiple ply stack and the inclined sleeve into a continuous compression molding machine.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein placing the shim between the inclined sleeve and the inclined die comprises placing the shim between a substantially planar surface of the inclined sleeve and a second substantially planar surface of the inclined die.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein a cross-section of the inclined sleeve is constant across a length of the inclined sleeve.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a cross-section of the inclined sleeve varies across a length of the inclined sleeve.
5. A method comprising:
installing an inclined sleeve over an inclined die such that a first inclined surface of the inclined sleeve engages a second inclined surface of the inclined die;
placing a shim between the inclined sleeve and the inclined die;
securing the inclined sleeve to the inclined die, wherein securing the inclined sleeve to the inclined die comprises holding the inclined sleeve in place relative to the inclined die using a number of connectors and wherein the number of connectors is substantially rhombus-shaped;
placing a multiple ply stack relative to the inclined sleeve such that at least a portion of the multiple ply stack contacts at least a portion of a first face of the inclined sleeve, wherein the inclined die engages a second face of the inclined sleeve; and
feeding the multiple ply stack and the inclined sleeve into a continuous compression molding machine.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the multiple ply stack comprises a number of features that change a thickness of the multiple ply stack.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein a cross-section of the inclined sleeve is constant across a length of the inclined sleeve.
8. The method of claim 5 , wherein a cross-section of the inclined sleeve varies across a length of the inclined sleeve.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the shim is formed of a malleable material configured to self-form to a desirable shape.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inclined sleeve further comprises a substantially planar surface, wherein the first inclined surface is positioned at an angle relative to the substantially planar surface, and wherein the angle is selected to reduce a weight of the inclined sleeve.
11. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first face has features to mold composite material.
12. The method of claim 5 , wherein the second face comprises a first inclined surface, a second inclined surface, and a substantially planar surface.
13. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first face has tooling features that impart mirror image features onto the multiple ply stack.
14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first inclined surface is positioned at an angle relative to the substantially planar surface, and wherein the angle is selected to reduce a weight of the inclined sleeve.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multiple ply stack comprises a number of features that change a thickness of the multiple ply stack.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inclined sleeve has features to mold the multiple ply stack.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first face comprises a first inclined surface, a second inclined surface, and a substantially planar surface.
18. The method of claim 5 , wherein placing the shim between the inclined sleeve and the inclined die comprises placing the shim between a substantially planar surface of the inclined sleeve and a second substantially planar surface of the inclined die.
19. The method of claim 5 , wherein the shim is formed of a malleable material configured to self-form to a desirable shape.
20. The method of claim 5 , wherein placing the shim comprises positioning the shim such that the inclined die contacts the shim and the inclined sleeve to impart a substantially uniform pressure to the multiple ply stack.