Production of textile reinforced thermoplastic profiles by roll forming

Abstract

Roll forming of steel profiles is widely used in various industries due to its productivity and versatility. By adopting this technology to be used with continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites, structurally efficient, long profiles, which possess all the performance advantages inherent to thermoplastic composites, can be manufactured in an economically efficient manner. Glass fibre textile reinforced polypropylene (GF/PP) and polyamide 6.6 (GF/PA66) sheets were successfully formed into top-hat-sections at speeds of up to 10 m/min. The influence of essential processing parameters on the forming behaviour and quality of the profiles was examined experimentally. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.