Abstract
Advances in automated material placement technologies have enabled the production of fibre- steered composites, which allow for improved structural performance and expand the overall design space for composite structures. It has been demonstrated that the Continuous Tow Shearing (CTS) mechanism significantly improves the fibre steering capability of modern automated fibre placement machines. While the CTS was originally developed for use with semi-impregnated tows and dry fabrics, in this research the process was improved to realise fibre steering with wide prepreg tapes. The results from the feasibility study showed that the CTS process can achieve steering radii as low as 50 mm with 100 mm wide prepreg tapes, without generating significant manufacturing defects, making CTS the world’s first automated tape laying technology with fibre steering capability.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | 21st International Conference on Composites Materials |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |