Methods of customizing, manufacturing, and repairing a rotor blade using additive manufacturing processes and a rotor blade incorporating the same
US-2019032491-A1 · Jan 31, 2019 · US
Assembly fixture with anisotropic thermal properties
US10654208B2 · US · B2
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication number | US-10654208-B2 |
| Application number | US-201715710797-A |
| Country | US |
| Kind code | B2 |
| Filing date | Sep 20, 2017 |
| Priority date | Sep 20, 2017 |
| Publication date | May 19, 2020 |
| Grant date | May 19, 2020 |
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- Title
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Abstract
Official abstract text for this publication.
In one embodiment, a method may comprise heating a composite material into a viscous form, wherein the composite material comprises a thermoplastic and a plurality of reinforcement fibers, wherein the plurality of reinforcement fibers is randomly arranged within the thermoplastic. The method may further comprise extruding a plurality of strands of the composite material, wherein extruding the plurality of strands causes the plurality of reinforcement fibers within each strand to align. The method may further comprise arranging the plurality of strands of the composite material to form an assembly fixture, wherein the assembly fixture comprises an anisotropic thermal expansion property, and wherein the anisotropic thermal expansion property is based on an orientation of the plurality of reinforcement fibers within the assembly fixture.
First claim
Opening claim text (preview).
What is claimed is: 1. A method, comprising: heating a composite material into a viscous form, wherein the composite material comprises a thermoplastic and a plurality of reinforcement fibers, wherein the plurality of reinforcement fibers is randomly arranged within the thermoplastic; extruding a plurality of strands of the composite material, wherein extruding the plurality of strands causes the plurality of reinforcement fibers within each strand to align; and arranging the plurality of strands of the composite material to form an assembly fixture, wherein the assembly fixture comprises an anisotropic thermal expansion property, and wherein the anisotropic thermal expansion property is based on an orientation of the plurality of reinforcement fibers within the assembly fixture; wherein the anisotropic thermal expansion property of the assembly fixture comprises a low coefficient of thermal expansion for a length dimension of the assembly fixture; and wherein the length dimension of the assembly fixture comprises a smaller coefficient of thermal expansion than a length dimension of the composite structure. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the assembly fixture is configured to facilitate assembly of a composite structure by fastening the composite structure during a heated bonding process. 3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the composite structure comprises a wing. 4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the wing comprises a rotor blade. 5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the assembly fixture comprises a plurality of fastening structures coupled to a base structure, wherein the plurality of fastening structures is configured to fasten a plurality of components of the wing during the heated bonding process, and wherein the anisotropic thermal expansion property of the assembly fixture comprises a low coefficient of thermal expansion for a length dimension of the base structure and a height dimension of the plurality of fastening structures. 6. The method of claim 1 , wherein arranging the plurality of strands of the composite material to form the assembly fixture comprises additively manufacturing the assembly fixture using the composite material. 7. The method of claim 1 , wherein extruding the plurality of strands of the composite material comprises using fused deposition modeling to extrude the plurality of strands.
Assignees
Inventors
Classifications
Thermoplastic elastomer fibers · CPC title
longitudinally · CPC title
Moulds, cores, dies · CPC title
Blades · CPC title
Wings (ornithopter wings B64C33/02) · CPC title
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- What does patent US10654208B2 cover?
- In one embodiment, a method may comprise heating a composite material into a viscous form, wherein the composite material comprises a thermoplastic and a plurality of reinforcement fibers, wherein the plurality of reinforcement fibers is randomly arranged within the thermoplastic. The method may further comprise extruding a plurality of strands of the composite material, wherein extruding the p…
- Who is the assignee on this patent?
- Bell Helicopter Textron Inc
- What technology area does this patent fall under?
- Primary CPC classification B29C48/05. Mapped technology areas include Operations & Transport.
- When was this patent published?
- Publication date Tue May 19 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
- What related patents are in patentsdb?
- We list 4 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).