A feedstock configured for use in an extruder in an additive manufacturing system is configured as a braided comingled tow filament. A method of producing the braided comingled tow filament includes providing a bundle of comingled tow material having a fiber count ranging from about 1,000 fibers to about 25,000 fibers having thermoplastic fibers comingled therewith, wherein the tow material in the filament ranges from about 50 to 75 volume percent and the volume percent of the thermoplastic material ranges from about 25 volume percent to about 50 volume percent. The method includes dividing the length of comingled tow material into sections, twisting each section into a strand to form a plurality of strands of twisted tow material, and braiding together the strands.

An additive manufacturing system is capable of extruding poly-fiber strand having a fiber core coated with a polymer with a high range of flexibility in positioning and orienting extruded fibers. Extruded fibers may be laid in a single direction, or may curve or turn to be laid in multiple directions. Structures of devices and components may be created using interconnected extruded strands having interstitial spaces between and around the strands. This structure may be infused with resin or polymer using a pressure or vacuum based infusion system. In this manner, durable polymeric objects can be created without requiring expensive molds. Other techniques are also possible, including varying the types of strands used in an object to create areas of the object that will preferentially twist or flex in certain ways or directions, as well as producing objects with zones having different types of resin or no resin.

A reinforced cable tie generally includes an elongate strap having a first end, a second end and an elongate planar strap body therebetween, a head having an upstanding central wall separating a first and a second elongate parallel passageway through the head for respective receipt of the first and second ends of said strap, a locking device supported in the head for retaining the first and second ends of the strap and a continuous reinforcement disposed in and extending substantially continuously along a path defining the strap. In a method for forming a cable tie, a continuous reinforcing strand is co-extruded within an elongate strap and a head is assembled to the strap.

A pultrusion process for making a strip for an elongate reinforcing structure of a wind turbine blade, the process comprising drawing fibres (42) and resin through a pultrusion die (40) in a process direction to form a strip (102); and applying an infusion-promoting layer (110) to a surface of the strip down-stream from the die in the process direction. A pultrusion apparatus is also disclosed.

A bending method and a bending device, wherein a composite bar comprising a bundle of reinforcing fibres embedded in a polymer matrix is bent at a bending point. To make it bendable, the composite bar is heated locally at the bending point using an ultrasonic device with a sonotrode. After the bending point has been heated, an infeeding movement between the composite bar and the sonotrode is used to deform a region of the composite bar at the bending point to create a deformed portion of which the outer dimensions are different from the outer dimensions of the bar portions of the composite bar adjoining the bending point. The two bar portions are then moved or angled away in relation to one another, and so the composite bar is curved at the bending point. Once the desired bending has been achieved, the composite bar is cured at the bending point.

In one embodiment, a method may comprise heating a composite material into a viscous form, wherein the composite material comprises a thermoplastic and a plurality of reinforcement fibers, wherein the plurality of reinforcement fibers is randomly arranged within the thermoplastic. The method may further comprise extruding a plurality of strands of the composite material, wherein extruding the plurality of strands causes the plurality of reinforcement fibers within each strand to align. The method may further comprise arranging the plurality of strands of the composite material to form an assembly fixture, wherein the assembly fixture comprises an anisotropic thermal expansion property, and wherein the anisotropic thermal expansion property is based on an orientation of the plurality of reinforcement fibers within the assembly fixture.

A composite spar having an upper and lower wall region connected by leading and trailing edge regions is provided including a plurality of first laminates and a plurality of second laminates. The plurality of first laminates includes one or more intermediate modulus graphite plies having an intermediate modulus. The plurality of first laminates is arranged in one or more intermediate modulus layers to form at least a portion of the upper wall region, lower wall region, leading edge region and trailing edge region. The plurality of second laminates includes one or more high modulus graphite plies having a high modulus. The plurality of second laminates is arranged in one or more high modulus layers. The high modulus layers are generally interposed between intermediate modulus layers.

A method of manufacturing a structural beam comprising an elongate base part comprising a polymer. The base part has a length, a width and a height. The beam also comprises an elongate reinforcement part comprising a strip comprising a unidirectional polymer, bonded to the base part at an outer surface of the base part and extending in the length direction along the length of the base part. The strip has a higher Young's modulus than the base part. The method also relates to a beam and to a building comprising such a beam.

A brake disc made of fiber-reinforced material includes a braking band having a predetermined thickness. The method for making the brake discs includes setting up a winding mandrel and forming at least one layer of fibers having a predetermined width. The layer of fibers is impregnated with a binder resin. The impregnated layer is wound about the mandrel, forming a hollow cylindrical body having a predefined outer diameter and an inner diameter substantially equivalent to the mandrel diameter. The layer of fibers is wound about the mandrel in a winding direction substantially parallel to the lengthwise direction of the layer. The cylindrical body is heated to at least partly cross-link the binder resin and obtain a solid semi-finished cylindrical body. The cylindrical body is cut in slices transversely to the cylindrical body axis according to predetermined thicknesses. Each slice is a disc-shaped body defining the disc's braking band.

A method of manufacturing a connector for a fluid transfer conduit comprises: manufacturing a tube which runs parallel to a central axis C from fibre-reinforced polymer, said tube comprising a hub portion 206 and a flange-forming portion 208 located adjacent to the hub portion 206, wherein the hub portion 206 comprises continuous circumferentially oriented fibre-reinforcement 210; and the hub portion 206 and the flange-forming portion 208 comprise longitudinally oriented fibre-reinforcement 212 which runs continuously from the hub portion 206 into the flange-forming portion 208; and bending the flange-forming portion 208 away from the central axis C such that it extends from the hub portion 206 at an angle to the central axis C.