Advanced manufacturing of thermoplastic tape preforms: braiding simulation, curved preforming, and consolidation via rotational and bladder-assisted molding
Transportation emissions are a major driver of global warming, making vehicle greenhouse gas reduction essential. Lightweight design, such as hollow shafts and tubes, lowers energy use by optimizing stiffness-to-mass ratios. Fiber-reinforced polymers, especially thermoplastic variants, excel in thes...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
|
| Series: | Advanced Manufacturing: Polymer & Composites Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20550340.2025.2546292 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849230244934844416 |
|---|---|
| author | Eric Mischorr Patrick Schaible Veit Würfel Johannes Keil Anton Gelencsér Sebastian Schabel Jürgen Fleischer Maik Gude |
| author_facet | Eric Mischorr Patrick Schaible Veit Würfel Johannes Keil Anton Gelencsér Sebastian Schabel Jürgen Fleischer Maik Gude |
| author_sort | Eric Mischorr |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Transportation emissions are a major driver of global warming, making vehicle greenhouse gas reduction essential. Lightweight design, such as hollow shafts and tubes, lowers energy use by optimizing stiffness-to-mass ratios. Fiber-reinforced polymers, especially thermoplastic variants, excel in these applications due to their high specific stiffness, customizable mechanical properties, and scalable manufacturing. This study introduces two novel methods for producing braided hollow carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 profiles: rotational molding for straight preforms and bladder-assisted molding for curved preforms. Numerical simulations of braiding were compared to actual braid architectures, revealing both the capabilities and current limitations of the simulation software for tape-based braiding. Analyses included fiber angle, cover factor, and CT-based wall thickness measurements. The potential for increasing consolidation pressure in rotational molding is shown by means of a theoretical analysis. Bladder-assisted molding produced fully consolidated, minimally wrinkled curved profiles, proving the feasibility of manufacturing high-quality curved braided profiles without post-consolidation forming. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9764beb2a48c451589036675447f09b0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2055-0340 2055-0359 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advanced Manufacturing: Polymer & Composites Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-9764beb2a48c451589036675447f09b02025-08-21T07:25:46ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAdvanced Manufacturing: Polymer & Composites Science2055-03402055-03592025-12-0111110.1080/20550340.2025.2546292Advanced manufacturing of thermoplastic tape preforms: braiding simulation, curved preforming, and consolidation via rotational and bladder-assisted moldingEric Mischorr0Patrick Schaible1Veit Würfel2Johannes Keil3Anton Gelencsér4Sebastian Schabel5Jürgen Fleischer6Maik Gude7Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, GermanyInstitute of Production Science, Karlsruher Institute of Technology, WBK, Karlsruhe, GermanyInstitute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, GermanyInstitute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, GermanyInstitute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, GermanyInstitute of Production Science, Karlsruher Institute of Technology, WBK, Karlsruhe, GermanyInstitute of Production Science, Karlsruher Institute of Technology, WBK, Karlsruhe, GermanyInstitute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, GermanyTransportation emissions are a major driver of global warming, making vehicle greenhouse gas reduction essential. Lightweight design, such as hollow shafts and tubes, lowers energy use by optimizing stiffness-to-mass ratios. Fiber-reinforced polymers, especially thermoplastic variants, excel in these applications due to their high specific stiffness, customizable mechanical properties, and scalable manufacturing. This study introduces two novel methods for producing braided hollow carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 profiles: rotational molding for straight preforms and bladder-assisted molding for curved preforms. Numerical simulations of braiding were compared to actual braid architectures, revealing both the capabilities and current limitations of the simulation software for tape-based braiding. Analyses included fiber angle, cover factor, and CT-based wall thickness measurements. The potential for increasing consolidation pressure in rotational molding is shown by means of a theoretical analysis. Bladder-assisted molding produced fully consolidated, minimally wrinkled curved profiles, proving the feasibility of manufacturing high-quality curved braided profiles without post-consolidation forming.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20550340.2025.2546292Polyamide-6rotational moldingthermoplasticscompositesbraidingBraidSim |
| spellingShingle | Eric Mischorr Patrick Schaible Veit Würfel Johannes Keil Anton Gelencsér Sebastian Schabel Jürgen Fleischer Maik Gude Advanced manufacturing of thermoplastic tape preforms: braiding simulation, curved preforming, and consolidation via rotational and bladder-assisted molding Advanced Manufacturing: Polymer & Composites Science Polyamide-6 rotational molding thermoplastics composites braiding BraidSim |
| title | Advanced manufacturing of thermoplastic tape preforms: braiding simulation, curved preforming, and consolidation via rotational and bladder-assisted molding |
| title_full | Advanced manufacturing of thermoplastic tape preforms: braiding simulation, curved preforming, and consolidation via rotational and bladder-assisted molding |
| title_fullStr | Advanced manufacturing of thermoplastic tape preforms: braiding simulation, curved preforming, and consolidation via rotational and bladder-assisted molding |
| title_full_unstemmed | Advanced manufacturing of thermoplastic tape preforms: braiding simulation, curved preforming, and consolidation via rotational and bladder-assisted molding |
| title_short | Advanced manufacturing of thermoplastic tape preforms: braiding simulation, curved preforming, and consolidation via rotational and bladder-assisted molding |
| title_sort | advanced manufacturing of thermoplastic tape preforms braiding simulation curved preforming and consolidation via rotational and bladder assisted molding |
| topic | Polyamide-6 rotational molding thermoplastics composites braiding BraidSim |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20550340.2025.2546292 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ericmischorr advancedmanufacturingofthermoplastictapepreformsbraidingsimulationcurvedpreformingandconsolidationviarotationalandbladderassistedmolding AT patrickschaible advancedmanufacturingofthermoplastictapepreformsbraidingsimulationcurvedpreformingandconsolidationviarotationalandbladderassistedmolding AT veitwurfel advancedmanufacturingofthermoplastictapepreformsbraidingsimulationcurvedpreformingandconsolidationviarotationalandbladderassistedmolding AT johanneskeil advancedmanufacturingofthermoplastictapepreformsbraidingsimulationcurvedpreformingandconsolidationviarotationalandbladderassistedmolding AT antongelencser advancedmanufacturingofthermoplastictapepreformsbraidingsimulationcurvedpreformingandconsolidationviarotationalandbladderassistedmolding AT sebastianschabel advancedmanufacturingofthermoplastictapepreformsbraidingsimulationcurvedpreformingandconsolidationviarotationalandbladderassistedmolding AT jurgenfleischer advancedmanufacturingofthermoplastictapepreformsbraidingsimulationcurvedpreformingandconsolidationviarotationalandbladderassistedmolding AT maikgude advancedmanufacturingofthermoplastictapepreformsbraidingsimulationcurvedpreformingandconsolidationviarotationalandbladderassistedmolding |