Methods for fabricating a 3D braided material and exemplary 3D braided material for sporting implements are disclosed. The exemplary braids can be incorporated into any sporting implements, such as, baseball bats, lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks, rackets, helmets, and other protective equipment. The example sporting implement can be constructed, partially or entirely, with a braided three dimensional structure. The 3D braided material can be a multi-directional layup having tows oriented in three directions (X, Y and Z) and also at any angle created by the combination of two or three directions. A single woven preform can be formed that can have a near net shape of the formed product, with the fibers oriented in a way that will be optimal for the particular application.

A method of fabricating a composite material part includes injecting under pressure a slurry containing a powder of refractory ceramic particles into a fiber texture; and draining the liquid of the slurry that has passed through the fiber texture, while retaining the powder of refractory ceramic particles within the texture to obtain a fiber preform filled with refractory ceramic particles. The injection tooling includes a porous material mold including an internal housing in which the fiber texture is placed, the slurry being injected into the fiber texture via an injection port in the injection tooling and leading into the internal housing of the mold. The tooling includes a rigid material enclosure in which the porous material mold is held while the slurry is injected under pressure and while the liquid of the slurry is drained, the liquid of the slurry being discharged via a vent present in the enclosure.

A fiber texture presents the shape of a strip extending in a longitudinal direction over a determined length between a proximal portion and a distal portion, and in a lateral direction over a determined width between first and second lateral edges. The fiber texture presents three-dimensional or multilayer weaving. The proximal portion of the fiber texture includes an end portion extending in the lateral direction so as to be set back from at least one of the first and second lateral edges and over a determined width that is less than the width of the fiber texture. The end portion projects in the longitudinal direction from at least one longitudinal edge of the fiber texture, the end portion extending in the longitudinal direction between a first end connected to the fiber texture and a free, second end opposite from the first end.

A method of fabricating a woven fiber preform that is impregnated with a matrix-precursor resin, the resin, in the raw state, presenting a glass transition temperature Tg.sup.0, includes: impregnating yarns or strands with the resin; feeding a loom with the impregnated yarns or strands maintained at a temperature in the range Tg.sup.0 to Tg.sup.0+10 C.; and weaving the yarns or strands in the loom in order to obtain the resin-impregnated woven fiber preform.

A docking device includes a hollow cylindrical body portion having an internal surface and an outer surface. The hollow cylindrical body portion is formed of a three-dimensional (3D) woven fabric comprising a plurality of different types of fibers.

A volumetric weaving approach employs a vertical aspect of woven warp and weft fibers to generate volumetric structures through formation of tie-downs. Tie downs define warp and weft fibers that take a vertical path or component extending perpendicular to a weave plane. Independently controlled heddles provide selective warp fibers control, and a two-dimensional creel that dispenses the warp fibers at differing feed rates allows manipulation of the fibers into three dimensional structures or portions. As a shuttle draws the weft fiber, different layers are raised and lowered to lend a vertical axis to the resulting volumetric structure. Interconnections between the portions include the use of the tie downs to connect multiple portions to define 3-dimensional panels of a finished article such as a shoe. A single pass defining all the interconnected portions of the shoe generates the fully formed shoe without subsequent cutting and seaming of different textile panels.

An abrasive product comprising an impregnated woven fabric comprising: a) A first layer of first uncrimped weft multifilaments (301-308) b) a second layer of second uncrimped weft multifilaments (309-316); wherein for each of the first uncrimped weft multifilaments (301-308) there is one corresponding second uncrimped weft multifilament (309-316), and vice versa, to form successive multifilament pairs (301/309, 302/310, 303/311, 304/312, 305/313, 306/314, 307/315, 308/316) of first and second uncrimped weft multifilaments; c) crimped warp filaments (41-44) having four different weave types d-c4, but each weave type consisting of entwining around first uncrimped weft multifilaments; passing between first and second uncrimped weft multifilaments; entwining around second uncrimped weft multifilaments; and passing again between first and second uncrimped weft multifilaments; d) uncrimped warp filaments (4) passing between first (301-308) and second (309-316) uncrimped weft multifilaments of all multifilament pairs (301/309, 302/310, 303/311, 304/312, 305/313, 306/314, 307/315, 308/316). The abrasive product furthermore comprises either a first particulate abrasive material (9) embedded into the first topmost surface (8) of the first top layer (7), or a prefabricated abrasive sheet (101) comprising a matrix material, a first top sheet surface (111) and first abrasive particles (91) embedded into the first top sheet surface (111).

A deflection member that includes a reinforcing member and a plurality of tiles fastened to the reinforcing member.

The invention relates to a magnetic scrim containing a scrim which contains a plurality of yarns and a magnetic coating covering at least a portion of the yarns of the scrim. The magnetic coating contains magnetic elements and a binder, where the magnetic coating is at least about 40% by weight magnetic elements, and where the magnetic coating has an areal density of at least twice the areal density of the scrim.

The invention relates to a magnetic scrim containing a scrim which contains a plurality of yarns and a magnetic coating covering at least a portion of the yarns of the scrim. The magnetic coating contains magnetic elements and a binder, where the magnetic coating is at least about 40% by weight magnetic elements, and where the magnetic coating has an areal density of at least twice the areal density of the scrim.