US 12,409,581 B2
Process for in-mold coating of composite aircraft components
Rogério de Almeida Silva, São José dos Campos—SP (BR); Edson da Silva Barbosa, São José dos Campos—SP (BR); and João Paulo de Araujo Santana, São José dos Campos—SP (BR)
Assigned to EMBRAER S.A., São José dos Campos— SP (BR)
Filed by EMBRAER S.A., São José dos Campos—SP (BR)
Filed on Oct. 31, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/978,138.
Application 17/978,138 is a continuation in part of application No. 16/907,931, filed on Jun. 22, 2020, abandoned.
Prior Publication US 2023/0048909 A1, Feb. 16, 2023
Int. Cl. B29C 37/00 (2006.01); B29C 33/68 (2006.01); B29C 70/34 (2006.01); B29K 63/00 (2006.01); B29L 31/30 (2006.01)
CPC B29C 37/0032 (2013.01) [B29C 33/68 (2013.01); B29C 70/342 (2013.01); B29K 2063/00 (2013.01); B29L 2031/3076 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A process for making a fiber-reinforced composite aircraft component having a finished exterior surface formed of a pre-cured primer coating, wherein the process comprises the steps of:
(a) providing a contoured mold defining an interior mold surface;
(b) spraying a water-based epoxy primer paint material onto an interior mold surface to form a coating layer of the water-based epoxy primer paint material on the interior mold surface;
(c) precuring the coating layer to thereby form a precured film layer of the primer paint material on the interior mold surface by:
(c1) allowing the water to evaporate from the coating layer of the water-based primer paint material at room temperature of between about 20° C. to about 25° C. during an initial flash off time period sufficient to form a dried layer of the water-based primer paint material; and thereafter
(c2) exposing the dried layer of the water-based primer paint material during a subsequent curing time period to an elevated temperature of about 60° C. to about 70° C. to thereby form a precured film layer of primer paint material;
(d) laying-up one or more uncured prepreg plies of fiber reinforced uncured resin on the precured film layer of the primer paint material to provide a component preform comprised of (i) the precured film layer of the primer paint material on the interior mold surface and (ii) the one or more uncured prepreg plies in contact with the precured film layer of the primer paint material;
(e) enveloping the component preform in a vacuum bag to provide an autoclavable component preform in the mold;
(f) placing the autoclavable component preform under vacuum within the bag into an autoclave and subjecting the autoclavable component preform in the mold while under vacuum within the vacuum bag to resin curing conditions within the autoclave at an elevated temperature condition in a range of about 180° C. (+/−10° C.) and at an elevated pressure condition in a range of about 95 psi (+/−5 psi) sufficient to cure the uncured resin in the one or more uncured prepreg plies to form cured prepreg plies and to bond the cured prepreg plies to the precured film layer of the primer paint material and thereby form the fiber-reinforced composite aircraft component; and
(g) removing the fiber-reinforced composite aircraft component from the mold such that the precured film layer of the primer paint material forms a cured finished exterior surface of the fiber-reinforced composite aircraft component.