The importance of the accuracy of the tension coming off of a creel or let-off is forgotten at times. Extensive design effort is put into the equipment to actually produce the sheet or tube formed from carbon fiber or other high-performance fibers, but in many cases the front end of this process is overlooked.

The accuracy of tension coming off of the creel can influence the mechanical properties of the part, and either enhance or degrade it depending on the tension control. In some cases, it is not the absolute value of tension which is important, but the minimization of deviation of tension between ends. A single tow of fiber with higher tension than the others could degrade a UD sheet or a pultruded part…. etc.

We have many success stories from our customers implementing our creels. Uniformity and improved characteristics of a UD sheet or tape, better mechanical properties observed in a pultruded part, stronger filament wound products, and better strength in a woven fabric.

In upstream composites production processes, it is often necessary to control a fiber or a band of fibers to an optimum tension value. However, identifying the correct tension is often overlooked, and production processes still utilize tensioning systems which were developed decades ago without much consideration of the actual tension they are generating.

The handling and guiding methods of carbon fibers
to prevent filament damage is often overlooked. However, it is an extremely important factor in carbon fiber production and downstream processes using carbon fiber.

Redirection with sharp angles, use of guides without proper surface finish, excessive tension, static contact points: these are all factors that can induce damage to the filaments in the carbon fiber tow. Broken filaments not only degrade the strength of the carbon fiber, but also cause issues in processing leading to production downtime.

Broken filaments accumulate on rotating parts and will snowball into a mess quickly, which not only needs an operator to intervene but can stop production or create defects in the product.

The main reason proper assessments are not made for fiber damage caused by inadequate handling is that there have been no quantitative means to measure fiber damage. Read more to find out about tools to accomplish this and some analyzation studies.

In upstream composites production processes, it is often necessary to control a fiber 

or a band of fibers to an optimum tension value. However, identifying the correct tension is often overlooked, and production processes still utilize tensioning systems which were developed decades ago without much consideration.

If the starting tension at the creel is not controlled properly, then the final product may be constructed of fibers with varying tension. As a result, it will not fully utilize the strength of all fibers equally. This can degrade the mechanical properties of the final product.

With the increasing variety of resin systems available for carbon fiber and other high-performance fibers, there is a growing need for development of sizing materials which interface well with each resin/fiber combination.

For the development of the sizing material, it is often difficult to experiment without obtaining un-sized fiber. Unless you produce the fiber in your own facility, in many cases it would be necessary to de-size the fiber first, and then apply the desired sizing materials.

The importance of the accuracy of the tension coming off of a creel or let-off is forgotten at times.  Extensive design effort is put into the equipment to actually produce the sheet or tube formed from carbon fiber, but in many cases the front end of this process is overlooked.

The accuracy of tension coming off of the creel can influence the mechanical properties of the part, and either enhance or degrade it depending on the tension control. In some cases, it is not the absolute value of tension which is important, but the minimization of deviation of tension between ends. A single tow of fiber with higher tension than the others could degrade a UD sheet or a pultruded part….etc.

We have many success stories from our customers implementing our creels. Uniformity and improved characteristics of a UD sheet or tape, better mechanical properties observed in a pultruded part, stronger filament wound products, and better strength in a woven fabric.

See the details below for further types of creels available.