V-Shape Forming of Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastic Sheet

Abstract

In this paper, we describe an experimental study on the development of a V-shape forming method for the processing of carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTP), in which a right-angle die is used. The material investigated was polyamide 6 (PA6) matrix plain-weaved carbon-fiber composites. CFRTP sheets were heated to above the melting temperature of the matrix and then immediately transported into the forming die and formed under different conditions of die temperature. The relationship between the bending angle and die temperature, and the correlation between the bending angle and layer shift were investigated. The distortion of the formed sheet owing to the residual stress was discussed and found to be in good agreement with the experimental result.