The Filament Winding Process

This process is primarily used for hollow, generally circular or oval sectioned components, such as pipes and tanks. Fiber tows are passed through a resin bath before being wound onto a mandrel in a variety of orientations, controlled by the fiber feeding mechanism, and rate of rotation of the mandrel.

Materials Options: 

Resins: Epoxy based. 

Fibers: Any, Fiberglass and Carbon fiber strands are most common. The fibers are used straight from a creel and not woven or stitched into a fabric form. 

Main Advantages: 

1. This can be a very fast and therefore economic method of laying material down. 
2.  Resin content can be controlled by metering the resin onto each fiber tow through nips or dies. 
3. Fiber cost is minimized since there is no secondary process to convert fiber into fabric prior to use. 
   
4. Structural properties of laminates can be very good since straight fibers can be laid in a complex pattern to match the applied loads.