Process Development from Complex 3D Geometry to Flat Knitted Pattern with Reinforced Fibres

The use of thermoplastic components with complex 3D shape, which are efficiently manufactured with thermo-presses, has been increased steadily. However, the possibility of deep-drawing these textile reinforced structures and with that, the production of consolidated thermoplastic sheets made of complex 3D shaped thermoplastic components is still limited. Multi-layer knitted fabrics (MLKF) are easy to be draped because of their open structure. However, the deformation of the knitted structure during draping leads to misalignment of fibers in the produced components. Besides of that, the draping process is often performed manually. This requires much time and effort. The purpose of this study is to develop a process chain to achieve complex geometries with the help of numerically computed patterns in a pattern program for 2D/3D biaxial reinforced hybrid yarn MLFK.