It's towpreg tape using a fluoropolymer matrix. The tape head has an infrared
heater and roller to liquefy and place the laminate and it's simultaneously
cooled at the roll head using a cold gun.
Anthony
Sent from my iPhone
On Nov 6, 2016, at 7:56 PM, Troy Prideaux <troy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 11/06/2016 01:51 PM, Troy Prideaux wrote:
To me, if you can get fluoroplastics that are meltable and extrudable
(of which there are quite a few), then what's stopping you from
melting some of the fluoroplastic into the fibre? Then you lay up in a
conventional method, autoclave (probably at high temperatures than
traditional) and voilà.
Yeah, it wouldn't be a "wet layup and let it cure" thing - it would need some
sort of high-pressure molding process, I suspect.
Dunno, if you were filament winding the layup and you could somehow melt the
particular bit being laid on (already in tension) to create the necessary
bond, then you might be able to avoid any post processing (in theory). Now,
wouldn't that be a nice way of laying up a composite cylinder :) You're
basically impregnating your fibre tow with a special "hot melt glue" that
just requires higher melting temperatures.
Troy
