Methods of embedding an elongate susceptor within a thermoplastic body

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11648741-B2
Application number	US-202016878333-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 19, 2020
Priority date	May 19, 2020
Publication date	May 16, 2023
Grant date	May 16, 2023

Abstract

Methods of embedding an elongate susceptor within a thermoplastic body and systems that perform the methods are disclosed herein. The methods include extending the elongate susceptor such that an extended portion of the elongate susceptor extends between a guide structure and a body-contacting structure. The methods also include heating a segment of the elongate susceptor to produce a heated portion of the elongate susceptor. The methods further include pressing a leading region of the heated portion of the elongate susceptor through a body surface of the thermoplastic body and into the thermoplastic body. The methods also include operatively translating at least one of the guide structure, the body-contacting structure, and an application tool that includes the guide structure and the body-contacting structure along an embedment pathway for the elongate susceptor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of embedding an elongate susceptor within a thermoplastic body, the method comprising:
extending the elongate susceptor from a guide structure of an application tool and to a body-contacting structure of the application tool such that an extended portion of the elongate susceptor extends between the guide structure and the body-contacting structure;
heating, with a heating structure of the application tool, a segment of the elongate susceptor to a segment temperature that is greater than a melt temperature of the thermoplastic body, to produce a heated portion of the elongate susceptor;
pressing, with the body-contacting structure, a leading region of the heated portion of the elongate susceptor through a body surface of the thermoplastic body and completely into the thermoplastic body such that the elongate susceptor is completely encapsulated within the thermoplastic body; and
concurrently with the pressing and the extending, operatively translating at least one of the body-contacting structure and the application tool along an embedment pathway for the elongate susceptor, wherein the embedment pathway is defined along the body surface, and further wherein the operatively translating includes smoothing the body surface with the body-contacting structure.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the extending includes extending from an elongate susceptor source that includes a spool of elongate susceptor material.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the extending includes continuously moving, at least during the operatively translating, the extended portion of the elongate susceptor along an elongate axis thereof.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the body-contacting structure includes a trailing body-contacting structure and a leading body-contacting structure that is spaced-apart from the trailing body-contacting structure, wherein the pressing includes pressing with the leading body-contacting structure, and further wherein the smoothing includes smoothing with the trailing body-contacting structure.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the extended portion of the elongate susceptor defines an extended portion length of at least 0.5 millimeters and at most 25 millimeters.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the extending includes extending such that a ratio of an extended portion length of the extended portion to a characteristic transverse cross-sectional dimension of the elongate susceptor is at least 5 and at most 100.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heating includes electrically heating the segment of the elongate susceptor by providing an electric current to the segment of the elongate susceptor to resistively heat the segment of the elongate susceptor.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heating includes inductively heating the segment of the elongate susceptor.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heating includes heating said segment of the elongate susceptor from an ambient temperature to the segment temperature in less than a threshold heating time of at most 3 seconds.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pressing includes melting a melt region of the thermoplastic body via heat transfer from the heated portion of the elongate susceptor.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein, subsequent to the smoothing, the method further includes cooling the melt region to solidify the melt region and retain an embedded length of the elongate susceptor within the thermoplastic body.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the melt region defines a maximum melt region transverse cross-sectional extent as measured perpendicular to an elongate axis of the melt region, wherein the leading region of the heated portion of the elongate susceptor defines a maximum susceptor transverse cross-sectional dimension as measured perpendicular to the elongate axis of the melt region, and further wherein the melting includes melting such that a ratio of the maximum melt region transverse cross-sectional extent to the maximum susceptor transverse cross-sectional dimension is at most 5.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pressing includes displacing a displaced volume of thermoplastic material, which defines the thermoplastic body, such that the displaced volume of thermoplastic material extends from the body surface of the thermoplastic body, and further wherein the smoothing includes at least one of:
(i) at least partially flattening the displaced volume of thermoplastic material;
(ii) at least partially planarizing the body surface of the thermoplastic body; and
(iii) pressing the displaced volume of thermoplastic material toward the body surface of the thermoplastic body.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the elongate susceptor includes at least one of an electrically conductive material, a metal, and a ferromagnetic material.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the elongate susceptor includes an elongate wire.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the elongate susceptor includes an electrical insulator that coats an external surface of the elongate susceptor, and further wherein the method includes performing the heating without melting the electrical insulator.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method includes performing at least the extending, the heating, the pressing, the operatively translating, and the smoothing without distorting the thermoplastic body.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the thermoplastic body is less than 5 times a maximum susceptor transverse cross-sectional dimension of the elongate susceptor.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further includes repeating at least the extending, the heating, the pressing, and the operatively translating a plurality of times to embed a plurality of lengths of the elongate susceptor within the thermoplastic body.

20. A method of embedding an elongate susceptor within a thermoplastic body, the method comprising:
extending the elongate susceptor from a guide structure of an application tool and to a body-contacting structure of the application tool such that an extended portion of the elongate susceptor extends between the guide structure and the body-contacting structure;
heating, with a heating structure of the application tool, a segment of the elongate susceptor to a segment temperature that is greater than a melt temperature of the thermoplastic body, to produce a heated portion of the elongate susceptor;
pressing, with the body-contacting structure, a leading region of the heated portion of the elongate susceptor through a body surface of the thermoplastic body and completely into the thermoplastic body such that the elongate susceptor is encapsulated within the thermoplastic body; and
concurrently with the pressing and the extending, operatively translating at least one of the body-contacting structure and the application tool along an embedment pathway for the elongate susceptor, wherein the embedment pathway is defined along the body surface, and further wherein the operatively translating includes smoothing the body surface with the body-contacting structure;
wherein the elongate susceptor includes an electrical insulator that coats an external surface of the elongate susceptor, and further wherein the method includes performing the heating without melting the electrical insulator.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Mciver Carl Roy
• Henson Landon Keith
• Hull John R

Classifications

• B29K2705/00

  Use of metals, their alloys or their compounds, for preformed parts, e.g. for inserts · CPC title

• B29K2701/12

  Thermoplastic materials · CPC title

• B29L2031/3085

  Wings · CPC title

• B29C70/70

  Completely encapsulating inserts {(B29C70/86 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B29C73/10

  using patches sealing on the surface of the article (B29C73/14 takes precedence) · CPC title