processingdetails

Filament Winding

Filament winding is a fabrication technique for creating composite material structures. And it is the process of winding continuous fibers on a rotating mandrel surface. The fibers are fed onto the mandrel surface in a precise pattern to produce material that is extremely strong and durable in relation to its weight. Fibers are saturated with resin to bind them together in the desired structure. The structure is released from the mandrel and cured with heat. The process involves winding filaments under varying amounts of tension over a male mould or mandrel. The mandrel rotates while a carriage moves horizontally, laying down fibers in the desired pattern. Carbon fibers are commonly used in filament winding to produce parts used in aerospace and defense applications. The most common filaments are carbon or glass fiber and are coated with synthetic resin as they are wound. Once the mandrel is completely covered to the desired thickness, the mandrel is placed in an oven to solidify (set) the resin. Once the resin has cured, the mandrel is removed, leaving the hollow final product.

Filament winding is well suited to automation, where the tension on the filaments can be carefully controlled. Filaments that are applied with high tension results in a final product with higher rigidity and strength; lower tension results in more flexibility. The orientation of the filaments can also be carefully controlled so that successive layers are plied or oriented differently from the previous layer. The angle at which the fiber is laid down will determine the properties of the final product. A high angle "hoop" will provide crush strength, while a lower angle pattern (known as a closed or helical) will provide greater tensile strength.

Products currently being produced using this technique range from golf clubs, pipes, oars, bicycle forks, power and transmiss