US Patent 9688032 Thermoplastic component repair

Thermoplastic components may experience local damage, including cracks and decohesion of fiber reinforcements, among others. Such thermoplastics may be repaired by heating them to a suitable softening/melting temperature under pressure and maintaining them under pressure and at elevated temperature until the damage is healed. This may be done in-place using custom-fabricated, suitably-shaped die portions maintained under pressure by magnetic attraction. Various heating methods and die portion fabrication methods are described.