Filament-winding tape laying

Filament winding tape laying Tape is laid side by side or overlapped to form a structure. 

Filament winding tape Unidirectional prepreg tapes are used for laying or around a mold in filament winding. 

On-line consolidation techniques are commonly used in manufacturing processes, such as filament winding and tape laying. Despite differences in the machines used to implement these two manufacturing processes, similar procedures are required to ensure complete bonding between the composite layers. The basic components of on-line consolidation process are illustrated in Figure 7.2. 

Fiber placement is basically a hybrid of filament winding and tape laying and is a continuous process for fabricating composite shapes, by laying thermoset or thermoplastic preimpregnated tows (in tow or slit tape form) onto a mandrel or tool having concave or convex surfaces. There is no limit to the fiber angle and tows can be added or removed as and when necessary. 

The major types of layup configuration include hand layup, automatic tape laydown, filament winding, resin transfer molding, and pultrusion. The configuration will depend on the type of reinforcement that is used (i.e., tape, tow, fabric, preform, chopped fiber, etc.) and whether or not it is impregnated with resin at the time of laying in the mold. 

Note the constraints associated with each technique, e.g., filament winding results in non-smooth outer surface pultrusion does not normally result in a quasi-isotropic laminate. For large structures, the relative cost of the filament winding is less than one-fourth that of hand layup and less than one-half that of the best tape laying machine. Use the least expensive form of composite raw materials. 

The lay-up procedme may be carried out entirely by hand (hand lay-up), in which the operator both cuts the lengths of tape and then positions them in the desired orientation on the tooled siuface. Alternatively, tape patterns may be machine cut, then hand laid. Fabrication costs can be further reduced by automation of prepreg lay-up and other manufacturing procedmes (e.g., filament winding, as discussed next), which virtually eliminates the need for hand labor. These automated methods are essential for many applications of composite materials to be cost effective. 

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