Vacuum fittings and rubber band seal

摘要

The invention disclosed herein is a combination of hardware fittings and an elastomeric peripheral seal which are used to bond two halves of a single beam together. The beam has transverse openings extending through its width when its halves are joined. The fittings cover opposite ends of each beam opening and essentially convert each into a vacuum chamber. The peripheral seal surrounds the interface between the beam's halves. A vacuum is drawn through both the fittings and the peripheral seal, thus drawing a vacuum along the interface of the halves as they are bonded.