Systems and methods for assembling a skin of a composite structure

摘要

Systems and methods for assembling a skin of a composite structure on an outer surface of an inner mold line layup mandrel. The systems and methods include receiving a plurality of ply kits, assembling the plurality of ply kits to form a skin segment that defines a portion of the skin, and affixing the skin segment to the outer surface of the layup mandrel. The assembling includes transferring a respective ply kit of the plurality of ply kits to a non-planar transfer tool, compacting the respective ply kit on the non-planar transfer tool, and repeating the transferring and the compacting for each ply kit in the plurality of ply kits to form the skin segment.

主权项

1. A system for assembling a composite structure, the system comprising:
a supply of ply kits, wherein each ply kit in the supply of ply kits includes a plurality of plies of a composite material; a skin segment assembly system, wherein the skin segment assembly system includes: (i) a non-planar transfer tool that is configured to simultaneously support at least two ply kits from the supply of ply kits on a non-planar upward-facing surface thereof; and (ii) a compaction tool that is configured to compact the at least two ply kits on the non-planar transfer tool to form a skin segment; and a layup mandrel that is configured to receive the skin segment on an outer surface thereof.