The Boeing Company
Fabrication of gap fillers for composite parts that exhibit varying radii of curvature

Abstract:

Systems and methods are provided for fabricating preforms. One embodiment is a method comprising acquiring tows of fiber reinforced material, selecting a number of tows to utilize for a bundle having an aggregate shape, assembling the tows together into the bundle, curving the assembled tows by slipping the assembled tows with respect to each other, drawing the bundle through a die to bind the bundle into a preform, enforcing a longitudinally varying cross section along the preform, and locking in a curvature of the preform.