Patent ID: 9511538
Filing Date: 2016-12-06
CPC Classification: B29C,B29K,B29L,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. A method for manufacturing a thermoplastic laminate part, comprising: placing a multiple ply stack of non-uniform thickness within a gap between a first tooling sleeve and a second tooling sleeve to form an assembly, wherein the multiple ply stack comprises a plurality of plies of thermoplastic material, and wherein a portion of the multiple ply stack in the assembly extends laterally beyond the gap forming an exposed portion; feeding the assembly through a pre-forming structure to form a preformed part assembly including applying pressure to the exposed portion using a number of external forming devices to bend the multiple ply stack, wherein applying pressure to the exposed portion bends the exposed portion to contact a lateral face of at least one of the first tooling sleeve and the second tooling sleeve; feeding the preformed part assembly through a consolidation structure; and compressing and heating the preformed part assembly within the consolidation structure to form a consolidated part assembly, wherein compressing and heating the preformed part assembly consolidates the plies.