The key role of thread and needle selection towards ‘through-thickness reinforcement’ in tufted carbon fiber-epoxy laminates

Tufting of dry preforms is one of the means of accomplishing through-thickness reinforcement (TTR) in a liquid composite molding process. Herein, once a preform is laid up, an automated robotic tufting setup is used to introduce the TTR. The selection of thread and needle for tufting process go hand-in-hand as tufting operation involves the act of penetrating preform by the needle as well as the trauma thread has to endure during this act. This...