Concurrent engineering of 3-D textile preforms for composites

Three–dimensional textile preforms are finding wide applications in the composites engineering community. Yet, while they offer some significant mechanical advantages over traditional laminated preforms, there is evidence that principles of concurrent engineering have not been implemented during the development of some of the technologies. This paper addresses some of the attributes and deficiencies of various 3–D technologies and suggests where implementation of concurrent engineering principles might have been helpful during the design development process.