JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #44 - October 2008 - Special Asia - 31

Fabrics effort are reduced. Furthermore, the process is highly suitable for short production runs because neither warp beam preparation nor creeling are needed. The process incorporates unique warp control mechanisms that ensure proper handling of the warp tapes to avoid deformations caused by excessive tensioning at each stage of the working cycle. Similarly, novel weft insertion mechanisms, together with a weft gripper, positively lay the weft tapes in a flat condition. The tape-like wefts are aligned at the fabric-fell position from outside of the fabric, thus eliminating any risk of deformation to the weft tapes or to the warp tapes. All these arrangements ensure gentle processing of all types of tapes, thereby preserving the tape structure to obtain woven products with the desired properties. The tape-weaving process can directly produce fabrics comprising tapes of dissimilar materials to create woven materials for engineering performance, aesthetics or other functions. It is a flexible process that can gently handle a variety of materials (delicate to stiff), different widths of warps and wefts, different tape compositions (thermoplastic to wood veneer) and different tape structures (perforated to plain, sandwich, fibrous to non-fibrous) to achieve the desired performance level and functional features, and to design innovative woven products. Main features Using tapes, versus yarns, increases the fibre volume fraction, reduces crimp, enables controlled relative fibre movement for good formability and a flat surface. mitigation application as it provides straight (crimpless) paths for the fibres to dissipate impact energy efficiently. Tapes from spread tows The production of TeXtreme® woven materials requires carbonfibre tapes. To meet this requirement, Oxeon has developed its own technology to spread carbon tows into thin and wide unidirectional tapes marketed as TeXero®. These tapes are produced in 20-50 mm widths, with an areal weight starting at 40 gsm. The development of tapes up to 300 mm wide is underway. The tape-spreading technology involves feeding carbon tows under the required tension to a spreading unit that gently separates the constituent filaments. The degree of filament separation is positively controlled. As the filaments separate, the tow changes into a thin and wide tape. To preserve the produced tape for subsequent handling during either the weaving process or shipment, the spread filaments are treated on one face with a suitable chemical formulation that is compatible with the currently available resins. The consolidated Texero® tape is continuously wound into spools in lengths suitable for either a given production run at the weaving machine or customers’ requirements. Market leader Oxeon’s woven spread-tow carbon fabrics are marketed under the TeXtreme® name. These novel materials, which are produced in widths of up to 1,500 mm, have been received favourably in the composites market as they uniquely offer: - increased fibre volume fraction, due to virtually no crimp, and thereby improved mechanical performance; - high flatness of woven material, due to straightness of fibres, which makes the surface relatively smoother so that the effort required to finish a product, such as polishing, is reduced or eliminated; - good formability and ease of handling, due to their unique structural integrity, which makes it unnecessary to change the existing processing and consolidation methods and equipment; and - a fresh aesthetic appeal for new looks and design. The improved performance offered by the Textreme® range stands validated by its use in Nike-Bauer’s latest goaltender sticks, several new products in the racing industry including Formula 1 cars, and certain other high-performance product applications. Oxeon is now recognized as the market leader in the spread-tow reinforcement segment. The tape-weaving technology is also suitable for ballistic Evolution continues The tape-weaving technology has opened up new opportunities in engineering high-performance textile materials and created new markets for its novel woven products. Perhaps this development is an indication of why weaving continues to evolve time and again! More information: www.oxeon.se No44 October 2008 / JEC Composites Magazine

http://www.oxeon.se

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #44 - October 2008 - Special Asia

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #44 - October 2008 - Special Asia