Rational manufacture of fibre-reinforced plastics components

The principal uses for high-performance fiber-reinforced plastics are in space technology and production of sports equipment. Otherwise, these long-fiber-reinforced polymeric materials have not been widely accepted in general engineering, even though their performance has by now reached a level that technically justifies their use instead of metallic materials. One of the reasons for the low rate of adoption is that production of components from fiber-reinforced plastics is much more complex than manufacture from metals. Fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) components with a closed surface (hollow bodies) have, so far, mostly been manufactured by a winding process. When the part geometry is complex, the process is pushed to its limits. If defined fiber orientation in the part is needed, braiding techniques offer better possibilities. This article describes the state of the art for both processes. The production methods presented for long-fiber plastics composites represent a mature technology, and thus contribute to the cost-effective production of FRP parts. For figures and literature see German text.