Method and apparatus for adhesive bond curing
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of curing a laminated resin part comprising:
- loading the part onto a support;
sliding the support having the part thereon along a first axis from a part loading position to a part curing position;
assembling a reinforcement layer of resin material and a fitting to a pre-selected portion of the part, the pre-selected portion of the part being less than an entirety of the part;
applying a pressure to the pre-selected portion of the part by moving a pair of clamps along a second axis transverse to the first axis from a standby position to a clamping position in which the clamps engage opposite faces of the pre-selected portion of the part;
heating the pre-selected portion of the part via the clamps to cure the pre-selected portion of the part to bond the reinforcement layer of resin material or the fitting to the part;
cooling the pre-selected portion of the part after the pre-selected portion of the part has been cured via a cooling fan; and
releasing the pressure applied to the pre-selected portion of the part after the pre-selected portion has cooled by moving the clamps from the clamping position to the standby position.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Portable apparatus for curing a part includes a wheeled frame having sliding part supports that move the part from a loading position to a curing position. A part clamping assembly is slidably mounted on the frame to apply clamping pressure to the part when the part is in the curing position in order to compact the part during a cure cycle. The clamping assembly includes a set of electrically heated shoes that heat the part to a cure temperature. A fan is provided to accelerate cool down the part after curing is complete. The heating and cooling operations are automatically performed by a programmed controller.
-
Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A method of curing a laminated resin part comprising:
-
loading the part onto a support; sliding the support having the part thereon along a first axis from a part loading position to a part curing position; assembling a reinforcement layer of resin material and a fitting to a pre-selected portion of the part, the pre-selected portion of the part being less than an entirety of the part; applying a pressure to the pre-selected portion of the part by moving a pair of clamps along a second axis transverse to the first axis from a standby position to a clamping position in which the clamps engage opposite faces of the pre-selected portion of the part; heating the pre-selected portion of the part via the clamps to cure the pre-selected portion of the part to bond the reinforcement layer of resin material or the fitting to the part; cooling the pre-selected portion of the part after the pre-selected portion of the part has been cured via a cooling fan; and releasing the pressure applied to the pre-selected portion of the part after the pre-selected portion has cooled by moving the clamps from the clamping position to the standby position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method comprising:
-
positioning a material part on a support that is movable relative to a frame along a first axis between a part loading position and a part curing position, the support having a surface that is substantially parallel relative to the first axis; maintaining the part between an arm and the support, the arm extending from the support in a non-parallel direction relative to the first axis, the support and the arm to prevent movement of the part in a first direction substantially perpendicular relative to the first axis; sliding the support to the part curing position along the first axis; assembling a reinforcement layer of resin material or a fitting to a pre-selected portion of the part, the pre-selected portion of the part being less than an entirety of the part; and clamping opposing faces of the pre-selected portion of the part via opposing clamps movable along a second axis that is transverse relative to the first axis, the clamps having respective clamping surfaces to engage respective ones of the opposing faces of the pre-selected portion, the clamping surfaces being non-parallel relative to the surface of the support. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A method comprising:
-
positioning a part on a support of a frame, the support to slide the part relative to the frame between a loading position and a curing position; adding a layer of fiber reinforced resin material over a portion of the part; moving opposing clamps from a standby position to a part clamping position to apply a pressure to the portion of the part having the layer of fiber reinforced resin material; and heating the portion of the part via the clamps to bond the fiber reinforced resin material to the part when the clamps are in the clamping position. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
Specification