CPC B64C 1/18 (2013.01) [B29C 65/02 (2013.01); B64C 2001/0072 (2013.01)] | 9 Claims |
1. A method of manufacturing a floor panel for installation in an aircraft, comprising: consolidating a plurality of Carbon-Glass/thermoplastic sheets to form a thermoplastic block having a desired thickness; cutting the thermoplastic block to form consolidated strips; machining each thermoplastic strip to form a deltoid filler; positioning a thermoplastic lower facing sheet on a base of a tool assembly; loading a plurality of thermoplastic C-shaped stringers on a plurality of mandrels; loading a plurality of stringer and mandrel combinations into the tool assembly to achieve a desired width; inserting the deltoid filler into a longitudinally-extending notch defined between adjacent stringers of the plurality of stringers; covering an upper surface of the plurality of stringers with a thermoplastic upper facing sheet to form a pre-consolidated floor panel; and applying, via the tool assembly, a uniformly-distributed compressive force on an outer periphery of the pre-consolidated floor panel, thereby integrally consolidating the plurality of stringers, the deltoid filler, and the upper and lower facing sheets into a consolidated floor panel; fixing a first side rail adjacent a first outermost mandrel of the plurality of mandrels; positioning a second side rail adjacent a second outermost mandrel of the plurality of mandrels; and moving the second side rail toward the first side rail, thereby applying a horizontally-oriented force on the pre-consolidated floor panel.
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