Selective comparison of heating sources for thermoplastic Automated Tape Placement

Automated Tape Placement is regarded as a process that holds the potential to deliver fast-paced in-situ consolidated thermoplastic composites. Although the process has been used commercially for thermosets, use of thermoplastics remain a field under development. The major parameters that influence the process are heat input, velocity of placement and consolidation pressure applied. Adopting an optimized heating source will help in optimizing the process itself. Assessment of a new heating system requires testing the system for different process parameters and comparing it with results obtained from an established system. This paper aims at comparing a relatively new heat source, humm3™ with a well known heat source, direct flame torch. Experiments were conducted to compare the nip point temperature, width changes and wedge peel strength for both the heat sources. The results obtained help in analyzing the humm3™ in terms of the material that can be best placed using the system and process improvement in general.