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A fibrous preform such as a braided or stamped fibrous is inspected for a defect prior to placing the preform in a molding cavity by flowing gas through regions of the preform while it is located outside the molding cavity, measuring gas pressure at the regions, and determining deviations in measure

A fibrous preform such as a braided or stamped fibrous is inspected for a defect prior to placing the preform in a molding cavity by flowing gas through regions of the preform while it is located outside the molding cavity, measuring gas pressure at the regions, and determining deviations in measured gas parameter among the regions. The deviations of the gas parameter for a particular preform are compared to background data that includes deviations of the gas parameter determined for previously tested performs such that a relatively large deviation for a particular preform is considered to identify that preform as a defective preform as opposed to an acceptable preform.

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1. A method of inspecting a gas permeable fibrous preform for a defect prior to placing the preform in a molding cavity, comprising flowing gas through regions of the preform while the preform is located outside the molding cavity, measuring a gas parameter at the regions, and determining deviations

1. A method of inspecting a gas permeable fibrous preform for a defect prior to placing the preform in a molding cavity, comprising flowing gas through regions of the preform while the preform is located outside the molding cavity, measuring a gas parameter at the regions, and determining deviations in the measured gas parameters among the regions.2. The method of claim 1 wherein the gas is flowed at a substantially constant flow rate and gas pressure is measured as the gas parameter.3. The method of claim 1 wherein the gas is supplied at a substantially constant pressure and gas flow rate is measured as the gas parameter.4. The method of claim 1 wherein the gas is flowed through the regions of the preform in succession one region after another.5. The method of claim 1 wherein the gas is flowed through the regions of the preform in concurrent manner.6. The method of claim 1 wherein the gas is flowed though a channel formed on a surface of the preform and then through the preform.7. The method of claim 6 wherein the channel is formed in part on the surface by a seal.8. The method of claim 6 wherein a second surface opposite from said surface of the preform is vented to ambient pressure.9. The method of claim 2 wherein gas pressure drop across a dimension of the preform is determined for each of the regions.10. The method of claim 9 wherein the gas pressure drop across a thickness dimension is determined for each of the regions.11. The method of claim 2 wherein the gas pressure drops are determined for each of the regions along a length dimension of the preform.12. The method of claim 1 including the additional step of comparing the deviations of the measured gas parameter for a particular preform to background data that includes deviations of the gas parameter determined for previously tested performs.13. The method of claim 12 wherein a relatively large deviation of the measured gas parameter of the particular preform relative to the data identify said particular preform as a defective preform.14. The method of claim 1 wherein the preform is a relatively rigid preform.15. The method of claim 14 wherein the preform is a braided, stamped, knitted, or stitched fibrous preform.16. A method of inspecting a gas permeable fibrous preform for a defect prior to placing the preform in a molding cavity, comprising flowing gas through a region of the preform while the preform is located outside the molding cavity, measuring a gas parameter at the region, and using the measured gas parameter to determine whether a perform is acceptable or not.17. The method of claim 16 wherein the gas is flowed at a substantially constant flow rate and gas pressure is measured as the gas parameter.18. The method of claim 16 wherein the gas is supplied at a substantially constant pressure and gas flow rate is measured as the gas parameter.19. The method of claim 16 wherein the gas is flowed though a channel formed on a surface of the preform and then through the preform.20. The method of claim 19 wherein the channel is formed in part on the surface by a seal.21. The method of claim 19 wherein a second surface opposite from said surface of the preform is vented to ambient pressure.22. The method of claim 17 wherein gas pressure drop across a dimension of the preform is determined.23. The method of claim 22 wherein the gas pressure drop across a thickness dimension is determined.24. The method of claim 16 wherein the preform is a relatively rigid preform.25. The method of claim 24 wherein the preform is a braided, stamped, knitted, or stitched fibrous preform.26. Apparatus for inspecting a fibrous preform disposed outside a molding cavity, comprising gas channel-forming means for forming a gas-receiving channel on a surface of the preform, means for flowing gas to the channel, a gas parameter measuring device for measuring a gas parameter, and means for releasably disposing the gas channel-forming means on the preform while it is disposed outside the molding cavity.27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the gas channel-forming means comprises first and second plates clamped on opposite sides of the preform.28. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the gas parameter measuring device comprises a gas pressure measuring device communicated to a gas supply conduit connected to the gas-receiving channel.29. The apparatus of claim 28 including a gas flow meter for providing a constant flow rate of the gas to the gas-receiving channel.30. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the gas parameter measuring device comprises a gas flow rate measuring device communicated to a gas supply conduit connected to the gas-receiving channel.31. The apparatus of claim 30 including a gas supply device for providing the gas at substantially constant pressure to the gas-receiving channel.32. The apparatus of claim 26 including means for venting an opposite surface from said surface of the preform to ambient pressure.33. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the means for venting comprises an opening in a plate clamped on the preform.