Patent ID: 8409487

Claim:
A process for forming a hollow structure from a pre-form, comprising: providing a breather; positioning the breather between the pre-form and an inflatable bladder; providing a pressure relief valve in fluid communication with the breather; placing the pre-form, the bladder, and the breather in a mold; inflating the bladder so that the bladder exerts a pressure on the pre-form; heating the pre-form to cause at least a portion of the material from which the pre-form is formed to become molten and to assume a state of fluid communication with the breather; and curing the molten material; wherein the breather and the pressure relief valve are configured to provide a path for resin and gases to exit the molten material and reach the ambient environment around the mold in response to a pressure differential between the ambient environment around the mold and the resin and gases while the molten material is being heated and cured.