We have developed a unique continuous winding technology for the manufacture of continuous thermoplastic composite tubulars. The pipes can be several km's in length and are produced in one fully automated production step. During the manufacturing, pre-impregnated thermoplastic composite tapes are in-situ consolidated to form the fibre-reinforced laminate of the pipe.

The first production line is constructed in our premises in The Hague. The line currently has the capability to manufacture continuous tubulars up to 3.5 inch OD and soon will be upgraded to 9 inch OD. Subsequently, additional winding stations will be installed to increase the production capacity and efficiency of the line.

Key advantages of this technology are:

• High production efficiency: the production process is fully automated.
• Continuous process: the process continues until material is finished, which drastically reduces the stop-and-start losses which are dominant in other fibre placement processes.
• Stop-and-start on the product: Airborne developed the stop-and-start technology, which allows the process to be stopped and started again at any place along the length of the product. This eliminates the risk that the whole product needs to be scrapped if anything occurs during production.
• No time constraint: thermoplastic composites don't have a limited processing time as thermosets have, which eliminates physical barrier to produce large products. It also allows for thorough quality control during production if required, the production can be stopped and continued later if neceassary.
• No length constraint: with the stop-and-start technology, the product can have any length. If material on the stations runs out, the process can be stopped, the stations can be reloaded, and production can start again.
• No thickness limit : multiple passes can be used to add extra reinforcement layers. This implies that there is no limit in thickness.
• Scalable: the process is scalable, even with only one station a full product can be made.
• Tailoring of the product: over the length of the product, the thickness and layup can be tailored to the specific strength- and stiffness requirements.
• Axial reinforcements: no pre-tension is required in the process which allows that the fibre-reinforced tapes are placed in axial direction of the pipe, to enhance the axial strength- and stiffness properties. These axial reinforcements can be placed at any location of the circumference, for example at the neutral bending axis of a pipe to avoid the reduction of spoolability.