Thermoforming of thermoplastic matrix composites. Part I

Long-fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites find widespread use in a variety of commercial applications requiring properties that cannot be provided by unreinforced plastics or other common materials of construction. However, thermosetting matrix resins have long been plagued by production processes that are slow and difficult to automate. This has limited the use of long-fiber-reinforced composites to relatively low productivity applications in which higher production costs can be justified. Unreinforced thermoplastics, by their very nature, can easily be made into sheet form and processed into a variety of formed shapes by various pressure assisted thermoforming means. It is possible to incorporate various types of fiber reinforcement to suit the end use of the thermoformed shape. Recently developed thermoplastic resins can also sometimes correct physical property deficiencies in a thermoset matrix composite. Many forms of thermoplastic composite material now exist that meet all the requirements of present day automotive and aerospace parts. Some of these are presently in production, while others are still in the development stage. This opens the possibility that long-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics might break the barrier that has long limited the applications for fiber-reinforced composites. 37 refs., 8 figs., 5 tabs.