Table of Contents
3D Braided Fiber Architecture
- Braiding yarns aligned at less than 90o angle to axial direction.
- Axial yarns (aligned at 0o) can be incorporated.
- Wide range of part thicknesses.
- Unitary preforms of a variety of shapes can be produced.
- Yellow yarns are braiding yarns
- Blue yarns are axial
(aligned at 0o degree to length direction)
A.E. Bogdanovich and D. Mungalov, “Recent Advancements in Manufacturing 3-D Braided Preforms and Composites” Proceedings ACUN-4 Sydney, Australia, 21-25 July 2002 pp. 61-72.
Rotary 3D Braiding
Three motion process:
- Horn gear rotates ¼ turn.
- Fork gear rotates ½ turn.
- Take up system advances braid.
- 16 horngears in 4 x 4 square
- 64 braiding carriers
- 25 axial positions
Mungalov, D. and Bogdanovich, A.,
US Patent No. 6,439,096 B1,
August 27, 2002.
Mungalov, D. and Bogdanovich, A,
SAMPE Journal, Vol. 40, No. 3,
May/June 2004, pp. 7-20.
Control of Shape
- Fork gear actuation is computer controlled
- Activating/de-activating can control shape
- Accomplished without stopping process
Capabilities
- 3BRAID® braid angles variable from ~5 to ~30% off axis
- Near net shapes possible
- 3BRAID® can incorporate a wide range of volume content of axial fibers. Axial fibers do not bend during processing
- Cross-sectional areas up to ~2 in2
- Cross-section shape can be changed within any single cycle of the machine operation without disrupting its regular work
