18499107. THERMOPLASTIC BRAIDING FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOSITE ARTICLES (The Boeing Company)
THERMOPLASTIC BRAIDING FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOSITE ARTICLES
Organization Name
Inventor(s)
Marc R. Matsen of Seattle WA US
Jeffery Lee Marcoe of Bellevue WA US
Gwendolyn Marie Janda of Seattle WA US
THERMOPLASTIC BRAIDING FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOSITE ARTICLES
This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18499107 titled 'THERMOPLASTIC BRAIDING FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOSITE ARTICLES
Original Abstract Submitted
A method of manufacturing a composite article comprises forming a braided lay-up including one or more braided layers around a braiding mandrel along at least a portion of a longitudinal axis of the braiding mandrel. Each braided layer may be formed by braiding tape segments of a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin tape applied at a tape tow orientation with thread segments applied at a thread tow orientation that is biased at an angle relative to the tape tow orientation. In an example, the thread segments include a thermoplastic resin thread that is integrated into a consolidated form of the braided lay-up following a consolidation process. In another example, the thread segments include a metallic thread that is removed from the braided lay-up prior to consolidation.