Composite material inlay in additively manufactured structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10814564-B2
Application number	US-201715730675-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 11, 2017
Priority date	Oct 11, 2017
Publication date	Oct 27, 2020
Grant date	Oct 27, 2020

Abstract

Techniques for inlaying a composite material within a tooling shell are disclosed. In one aspect, an additively manufactured tooling shell is provided, into which a composite material is inlaid and cured. A surface of the tooling shell is provided with indentations or another mechanism to enable adherence between the composite material and the tooling shell. The resulting integrated structure is used as a component in a transport structure.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a component for a transport structure, comprising:
three dimensional (3-D) printing a tooling shell, the tooling shell comprising a surface configured to adhere to a material;
applying the material onto the surface using the tooling shell as part of a mold; and
forming an integrated structure comprising the tooling shell and the material, the integrated structure for assembly as a component in the transport structure.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising assembling the integrated structure as the component in the transport structure.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the 3-D printing the tooling shell further comprises printing coarse sections on the surface to increase adhesion with the material.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the material comprises a composite material.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the composite material comprises carbon fiber reinforced polymer.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying the material onto the surface comprises using a composite fabrication process.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the applying the material to the surface comprises applying a matrix material of the carbon fiber having adhesive properties to secure the carbon fiber to the tooling shell.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the 3-D printing the tooling shell comprises forming a cavity in the tooling shell within which the surface is located.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the applying the material onto the surface comprises inlaying carbon fiber within the cavity.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein an additional portion of carbon fiber is proud of a tool and coupled to the inlaid carbon fiber.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein an additional portion of carbon fiber is coupled to the inlaid portion as a bridging region.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tooling shell comprises a plastic material.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wherein the 3-D printing the tooling shell further comprises 3-D printing a foam core material.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the 3-D printing the tooling shell further comprises 3-D printing a honeycomb panel.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tooling shell comprises a lattice structure.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the 3-D printing the tooling shell further comprises forming at least one pocket in the tooling shell configured to enable a flush finish for the applied material.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the at least one pocket is reinforced with a composite material.

18. The method of claim 1 , further comprising at least one additively manufactured node coupled to the applied material.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adding reinforcing material to a region of the integrated structure.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the reinforcing material comprises a composite fiber material.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tooling shell comprises at least one section of dissolvable material.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the forming the integrated structure further comprises dissolving the at least one section.

23. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
inserting one or more peel ply layers between the tooling shell and the composite material;
curing the composite material;
removing the one or more peel ply layers upon curing the composite material; and
bonding at least a portion of the composite material with the tooling shell using an adhesive.

24. A method of manufacturing a component for a transport structure, comprising:
three dimensional (3-D) printing a plastic tooling shell comprising a surface;
applying a composite material onto the surface using the plastic tooling shell as part of a mold; and
forming an integrated structure comprising the plastic tooling shell and the material, the integrated structure for assembly as a component in the transport structure.

25. The method of claim 24 , wherein the tooling shell further comprises a lattice or honeycomb structure.

26. The method of claim 24 , further comprising clamping the applied composite material via a plurality of additively manufactured nodes.

27. The method of claim 26 , wherein the additively manufactured nodes comprise suspension interfaces for crush rails of the transport structure.

28. The method of claim 26 , further comprising using the additively manufactured nodes to clamp the applied composite material and the plastic tooling shell.

29. The method of claim 24 , wherein the plurality of nodes comprise aluminum.

30. The method of claim 24 , further comprising forming pockets in the tooling shell to obtain a flush finish of the applied composite material.

31. The method of claim 24 , further comprising:
inserting one or more layers of peel ply between at least portions of the tooling shell and the composite material;
curing the composite material;
removing the one or more layers of peel ply upon curing; and
bonding the at least portions of the tooling shell and the composite material using an adhesive.

Assignees

• Divergent Tech Inc

Inventors

• HOYLE Richard Winston
• Tenhouten Broc William
• Lakshman Narender Shankar

Classifications

• B29C70/30

  Shaping by lay-up, i.e. applying fibres, tape or broadsheet on a mould, former or core; Shaping by spray-up, i.e. spraying of fibres on a mould, former or core · CPC title

• B29C70/06 Primary

  Fibrous reinforcements only · CPC title

• B29C70/342 Primary

  using isostatic pressure · CPC title

• B29L2031/608

  Honeycomb structures · CPC title

• B29K2105/206

  Meshes, lattices or nets · CPC title