Abstract: A system including mold pieces coupled together with breakaway bolts or other fasteners for facilitating the fabrication of composite parts for, e.g., aerospace vehicles. First and second mold pieces are coupled together to form a mold within which the composite part is fabricated from a composite material. A coefficient of thermal expansion of the mold pieces is higher than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the composite part. One or more breakaway fasteners couple together the mold pieces while the mold pieces and the composite material are heated, and then purposefully break and thereby decouple the mold pieces and release the composite part when the mold pieces are cooled. The fasteners may be constructed from polytetrafluoroethylene, may include a structural weakness to ensure breakage, may break into two or more pieces when under a tension or a sheering force, or may include threads that sheer when under a tension force.

Abstract: A system and method for fabricating large composite fuselages or other vehicle structures, in which the composite structure is fabricated and cured as on a tool, segmented and removed from the tool without disassembling the tool, and then reassembled off the tool to reform the large structure. The tool includes mandrel segments attached to a substructure. The attachments may be moveable to accommodate differential expansion and contraction during curing, and the tool may be rotatable to facilitate access. A composite material of resin and synthetic fibers is applied over the mandrel segments to fabricate the structure on the tool. Caul plates are secured over the composite material, and the composite material is cured on the tool. The resulting structure is cut into part segments which are then removed from the tool, and the part segments are joined to reassemble the large composite structure off the tool.

Abstract: A system and method for fabricating large composite fuselages or other vehicle structures, in which the composite structure is fabricated and cured as on a tool, segmented and removed from the tool without disassembling the tool, and then reassembled off the tool to reform the large structure. The tool includes mandrel segments attached to a substructure. The attachments may be moveable to accommodate differential expansion and contraction during curing, and the tool may be rotatable to facilitate access. A composite material of resin and synthetic fibers is applied over the mandrel segments to fabricate the structure on the tool. Caul plates are secured over the composite material, and the composite material is cured on the tool. The resulting structure is cut into part segments which are then removed from the tool, and the part segments are joined to reassemble the large composite structure off the tool.

Abstract: A system and method for fabricating large composite fuselages or other vehicle structures, in which the composite structure is fabricated and cured as on a tool, segmented and removed from the tool without disassembling the tool, and then reassembled off the tool to reform the large structure. The tool includes mandrel segments attached to a substructure. The attachments may be moveable to accommodate differential expansion and contraction during curing, and the tool may be rotatable to facilitate access. A composite material of resin and synthetic fibers is applied over the mandrel segments to fabricate the structure on the tool. Caul plates are secured over the composite material, and the composite material is cured on the tool. The resulting structure is cut into part segments which are then removed from the tool, and the part segments are joined to reassemble the large composite structure off the tool.

Abstract: A system and method for fabricating large composite fuselages or other vehicle structures, in which the composite structure is fabricated and cured as on a tool, segmented and removed from the tool without disassembling the tool, and then reassembled off the tool to reform the large structure. The tool includes mandrel segments attached to a substructure. The attachments may be moveable to accommodate differential expansion and contraction during curing, and the tool may be rotatable to facilitate access. A composite material of resin and synthetic fibers is applied over the mandrel segments to fabricate the structure on the tool. Caul plates are secured over the composite material, and the composite material is cured on the tool. The resulting structure is cut into part segments which are then removed from the tool, and the part segments are joined to reassemble the large composite structure off the tool.

Abstract: A system and method for assembling a 360-degree section of an aircraft fuselage or nacelle by properly positioning a plurality of assembly panels relative to a machine datum representing an assembly-level datum schema, drilling full-sized holes proximate to a second skin edge of the panels with the machine, net-trimming a second edge of the panels with the machine, then using the full-sized holes proximate to the second skin edges as alignment features to properly orient and attach pairs of the panels together proximate to first skin edges, opposite of the second skin edges with an auxiliary machine, forming panel pairs. Control systems may be installed into the panel pairs separately and independently, then the panel pairs may be joined together, aligning the full-sized holes proximate to the second edges, and inserting fasteners through the aligned full-sized holes proximate to the second skin edges.

Abstract: A system and method for assembling a 360-degree section of an aircraft fuselage or nacelle by properly positioning a plurality of assembly panels relative to a machine datum representing an assembly-level datum schema, drilling full-sized holes proximate to a second skin edge of the panels with the machine, net-trimming a second edge of the panels with the machine, then using the full-sized holes proximate to the second skin edges as alignment features to properly orient and attach pairs of the panels together proximate to first skin edges, opposite of the second skin edges with an auxiliary machine, forming panel pairs. Control systems may be installed into the panel pairs separately and independently, then the panel pairs may be joined together, aligning the full-sized holes proximate to the second edges, and inserting fasteners through the aligned full-sized holes proximate to the second skin edges.