Process development of injection molded parts with wound fiber structures for local reinforcement

Glass and carbon fiber reinforcements in injection molded parts have been used for many decades in combination with thermoplastics. Where short- or long-fiber pellets are used, all areas of the part are nearly equally reinforced by fibers. With local continuous-fiber reinforcements it is possible to reduce fiber usage to the most highly loaded areas of the components along the lines of flux. This method, which draws on principles applied in nature, strengthens the parts with only a slight weight increase compared to non-reinforced parts. The combination of injection molding as a process for large-scale production with the high mechanical properties of continuous-fiber-reinforcements enables the production of high-strength components at reasonable costs. The paper presents the investigation of a process development with injection molded components in combination with wound fiber structures. Fundamental experiments with tensile loaded wound fiber structures regarding to their design influences are presented. On this basis a reinforcement structure for a demonstrator was developed and examined.