Patent ID: 8003034

Claim:
A method for forming a composite structure, using an automated fiber placement head for placing pre-impregnated fiber tows onto a tool surface, the method comprising: providing a tooling tablet having a first and second substantially oppositely facing surface thereof, joined around the peripheries thereof by a side surface of the tablet, with at least one of the first and second surfaces forming a tool surface of the tablet; mounting the tooling tablet stationary and adjacent the fiber placement head, with the tool surface oriented substantially vertical and facing the fiber placement head; placing a first set of pre-impregnated fiber tows onto a tool surface with the fiber placement head to form the composite structure; and wherein the second side of the tooling tablet defines a second tool surface, and the method further comprises placing a second set of pre-impregnated fiber tows onto a second tool surface with the fiber placement head to form a second composite structure separate from the first composite structure.