Manufacturing techniques that improve the quality and/or reduce the cost of advanced composites structures produced by vacuum bag and cure in autoclave have been intensely investigated. One way to obtain a gain in productivity is to produce laminates with molded edges. This work presents a literature review of the fabrication process of structural parts of advanced polymeric composites, with emphasis in the manufacturing of laminates with molded edges. As an example of this type of edge finishing, symmetric cross ply laminates [(0,90)/0]s and [(0,90)/90]s were manufactured with pre-impregnated unidirectional tape and fabric. The arrangement of fibers and resin near the free edge of all specimens were analyzed using an optical microscope. It was observed that longitudinal fibers in the laminate (fibers at 0°) may move laterally towards the molded edge under the action of the pressure applied during cure. Pockets of pure resin may be formed at this region depending on the laminate stacking sequence.
Laminates; advanced composites; prepreg; molded edge; fabrication
