Filament winding company Engineering Technology Corporation has developed a compact servo tensioning creel for high-speed wet, dry and towpreg winding.
According to the company, its aim was to develop an accurate tensioner with a low number of contact points that can maintain accuracy at high payout speeds.
The system has been tested with challenging fibers, such as pitch carbon fiber, alumina fiber, and others ranging from 1,000 to 50,000 filaments.
Engineering Technology says that the guide rollers keepsfuzz to a minimum and reduce stringer wrap-ups, which are an inherent issue with some fiber types. The ST2 can accommodate up to sixteen 9-inch (22.9 cm) diameter bobbins in an 82’ X 72’ X 40’ (208.3cm X 182.8cm X 101.6cm) footprint. The system can be customized based on production specific requirements.
‘The ST2 high-speed tensioner was designed to meet and exceed the ever-increasing demands of modern fiber winding,’ said B Jay Larson, General Manager. ‘The new tensioning creel is particularly important for the company’s portfolio because it was developed to handle the high winding speeds achieved with the new CXG filament winder, geared to the high production of COPVs.
This story uses material from Engineering Technology, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
