UD Tapes

Unidirectional tapes, also known as UD tapes, are continuous fiber-reinforced tapes of different widths with unidirectionally aligned reinforcing fibers.

Fiber composites made from unidirectional continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic semi-finished products in the form of tapes or profiles offer optimum lightweight performance and material efficiency in the production of complex and high-strength structural elements. Unidirectional continuous fiber reinforcement can be used for a variety of applications, e.g. in the form of load-path-compatible cover layers for honeycomb or foam cores or in the form of solid rods or semi-finished profiles with integrated fiber reinforcement.

Thanks to its modular design, cost-efficient direct melt impregnation offers unique potential for a wide range of material compositions and manufacturable semi-finished product geometries. Functionalized tapes, e.g. with flame-retardant properties, can also be produced.

The melt impregnation systems at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS are specifically designed for development and scale-up to pilot scale and enable direct transfer to large-scale production.

The advantages of melt impregnation at a glance:

•       Direct processing of the raw materials into semi-finished UD products without additional working steps
•       Modular wetting nozzles allow the use of a wide range of thermoplastics from standard plastics to high-temperature plastics or functionalized compounds for special applications
•       High material efficiency in combination with the lowest possible thermal stress on the matrix polymers
•       High fiber content possible (e.g. glass fibers of up to 80 w% or 60 v% )

The Fraunhofer-IMWS has many years of experience in the field of application-specific material development and technical process development for the production of UD tapes. This know-how is complemented by a comprehensive range of quality assessment services (non-destructive and destructive) as well as the possibilities for further processing of the tapes , e.g. in hybrid injection molding processes or tape-based 3D printing processes.

Material development for application-specific UD tapes:

• Matrix materials: PE, PP, PA, PET, PC, PPA, biopolymers, others
• Fiber materials: GF, CF, basalt, polymer fibers, bio-based fibers, others
• Adjustment of performance properties
• Customized material development
• In-process testing technology and inline testing methods
• Material sampling

Material sampling

Life cycle assessment and evaluation of recyclability in relation to application

We are your contact for the development, pilot-scale production and further processing of UD tapes and their evaluation.

The evaluation of UD tapes and laminates for lightweight construction applications is based on various criteria. These include mechanical, thermal and processing properties.

You can find more information here.