Abstract: A system for pressing one or more stacks of one or more laminae (22), the system comprising: a tool including top (14b) and bottom plates (14a) configured to be disposed on opposing sides of each of one or more stacks (22) of one or more laminae, each of the plates (14a, 14b) having: a center region that overlies or underlies the stack(s) (22) when the stack(s) are disposed between the plates (14a, 14b); and tabs (174) that extend outwardly from edges of the center region and are configured to be coupled to a conveyor or one or more grippers for moving the plate; and a resilient layer (90) configured to be disposed between the top plate and the stack(s) (22) or the bottom plate (14a) and the stack(s) (22); wherein the resilient layer (90) is sized to be disposable between the plates such that, for each of the plates (14a, 14b): the resilient layer (90) overlies or underlies at least 90% of the center region; one or more portions of the resilient layer (90) neither overlie nor underlie the plate; and at least

Abstract: This disclosure includes platens for use in static presses, static presses including the same, and related methods. Some platens include a body (120) configured to be coupled to an actuator of a press and a plate (110) configured to be coupled to the body such that the plate defines at least a first portion of a pressing surface (140) of the platen, the pressing surface (140) configured to contact an object when the object is pressed by the platen, the plate and the body (120) cooperate to define a cavity (130) underlying the first portion of the pressing surface, at least one of the body and the plate define an inlet (190) in fluid communication with the cavity, and the first portion of the pressing surface is configured to deflect in response to pressure changes within the cavity (130).

Abstract: The present invention concerns a method and apparatus (14a) for winding a section of each of one or more layers of material (18a) around a mandrel (30) and about a longitudinal axis of the mandrel (30), wherein each layer of material (18a) includes fibers and the winding is performed such that, for the wound section of each layer of material (18a), each of a majority of the fibers is angularly disposed relative to the longitudinal axis of the mandrel (30), and: (1) disposing a tape (82) over the layer(s) of material (18a) such that at least a portion of the tape (82) overlies at least a portion of the wound section of each layer of material (18a) and a long dimension of the portion of the tape (82) is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mandrel (30); and/or (2) spot-joining adjacent sections of the wound section(s) together.