3D Braiding Technology

A White Paper

Shrikar K Amirisetty

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CONTENTS

Part 1:

Introduction --------------------------------------------------- 3

Part 2:

What our 2D braids have achieved so far (and what they

haven’t) -------------------------------------------------------- 4

Part 3:

Why switch to 3D? ------------------------------------------ 6

Part 4:

Applications of 3D braiding technology ---------------- 7

Part 5:

Conclusion ---------------------------------------------------- 11

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INTRODUCTION

Ever since 25,000 BC, weaving has been found to be extremely

useful. Back then, this was such revolutionary technology that many

different peoples – the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Vikings, the Celts,

etc. – had even adopted gods and goddesses to the name. Ever

since then, weaving has evolved to fulfil our routine activities. Now, in

our dynamic age, we have made great use of a branch of braiding

known as 2D braiding. However, our world is ever-changing. Every

day, it seems to demand more and more of our world’s mineral

resources, hence depleting the resources at an accelerated rate. It is

about time we revolutionize weaving again, for I believe it may hold a

solution that could at least bring about a minimization of their usage,

through the implementation of the innovative 3D braiding. This white

paper will show you the drawbacks of our current braiding technology

and why that calls for the adoption of 3D braiding.

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WHAT OUR 2D BRAIDS HAVE ACHIEVED SO FAR (AND WHAT THEY HAVEN’T)

Conventional 2D braiding has long been a vital tool to industrialists in

the development their products. During the Industrial Revolution,

mechanical braiding had been evolved to increase production

dramatically. Horn gear braiders are the usual mechanical braiding

equipment used by many factories today.

Figure 1 A picture of a 2D braiding machines (specifically, a horn gear braiding machine).

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These braiders have in-built “horn gears” that help move bobbins of

yarn upon 2 sinusoidal paths that move clockwise and anticlockwise

respectively, hence creating a braid. These braids have found

applications in reinforcing hosing, power cords, wiring, lace, etc. And

although these applications are quite important for our world’s daily

happenings, they are in no way radical technology. 3D braiding, on

the other hand, has shown extreme capability in almost every field of

activity, ranging from sport to medicine to aerospace.

So, what is it that these 2D braids lack? Firstly, 2D braids are limited

by their size and thickness, and have a poor impact resistance and

low delamination strength because of the lack of thickness-

determining yarn (or Z-fibers to represent the thickness direction). In

other words, this brings about the disadvantage of 2D braids being

too small and weak to be of much help for our problem, it cannot

handle too much stress and strain, and it can easily come apart. This

means that it is impossible to make long-lasting macrostructures

through 2D braids. 3D braids, however, can be made into

macrostructures (as I shall explain later on in the paper). The

difference between 2D and 3D braiding is a lot like the difference

between 2D and 3D printing – although 2D printing is extremely

useful for our society to pass on information, 3D printers act like

actual manufacturing units, building macrostructural capital. This

major difference between the two opens up so many opportunities for

application in various fields.

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WHY SWITCH TO 3D?

I’ve talked quite a bit on the limitation of 2D braiding, which can be

removed by the application of 3D braiding, hence bringing out

potential for much more usage, but I have not talked about how

exactly.

3D braiders, rather than using just 2 paths like how 2D braiders do,

makes use of braiders that follow multiple different paths; which,

through the use of programming and an actuator, can follow particular

Figure 2 A 3D braiding machine. Notice how there are bobbins of yarn in the middle also, and not just at the edges of the machine.

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paths to form the braid. What this effectively does is braid multiple

layers of yarn on top of each other. This gives the braided fabric a

significantly increased stability in structure, and also ensures a high

twistability without any damage to the structure. Another important

feature of the 3D braid is the ability to form a variety of shapes, unlike

2D braids, which takes the form of sleeve-like structures only. Since

they can be made in a variety of shapes, one would no longer have to

worry about splicing and cutting the 2D braid to get the job done,

hence making a tedious job a much simpler one. These braids also

have the additional benefit of high strength-to-weight ratios, high

fatigue limit and high resistance to corrosion, which explains its

importance in aerospace engineering. Given all these new and crucial

characteristics, 3D braids have become applicable for use in a wide

variety of fields.

APPLICATIONS OF 3D BRAIDING TECHNOLOGY

3D braids have so far shown unbounded potential application in

various fields of study and research. Most of these fields implement

large amounts of Iron, Titanium, Platinum, etc. Most people don’t give

notice to the fact that these resources are depleting the Earth of our

resources, but this chart can prove otherwise:

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3D braiding has already proven its capacity in medicinal technology,

and is currently being used to make stent grafts (simple as well as

bifurcated), prosthetics, and sutures. It has additionally found

application in instances for high moisture content absorption. Studies

also say that 3D braided fabrics are proving to be excellent scaffolds

Figure 3 A list of figures to tell you how long we have left until we run out of a few, out of many, resources we have been depleting.

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for regenerating articular cartilage. Additionally, the production of

these medical tools through 3D braiding makes much easier to

operate and use, hence saving crucial time during urgent situations

such as surgeries.

They have also proved to be useful against ballistics and is used

widely to protect humans from projectile blasts and fragments.

Originally, these shields made use of CFRP, a costly carbon polymer.

In comparison to 3D braids, CFRP seems too costly a material to

use.

They are also being used in protective industrial work clothes and

firefighter suits due to their high strength-to-weight ratio.

3D braid applications have additionally displayed tremendous

potential in space and aerospace units. They are currently being used

in space suits and spacecraft components, and are also used

extensively in the wings of outer layers of aircrafts and helicopters.

Last but not least, these braids have found application in sports. They

are heavily used in golf bats and are starting to be used in the

production sports shoes also.

What once used tons of Iron, Chromium, Gold, Titanium, Cobalt,

Tantalum and Aluminum among many others in virtually every field

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being practiced can be replaced by these 3D braided fabrics at a

lower cost.

Table 1 A brief look at the open-ended possibilities 3D braiding can provide us with.

Field of Study Application

Medicine

Stents

Prosthetics

Sutures

Material specifically made to absorb

large quantities of moisture

Scaffolds for regeneration of articular

cartilage

DefensePanels that block projectile blasts and

fragments from soldiers and civilians

Protective ClothingIndustrial Workwear

Firefighter suits

Space and Aerospace

Spacesuits

Airplane engine propellers

Spacecraft Components

Airplane Wings

Helicopter Rotor blades

Rocket Nozzles

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Sport

Baseball bats

Golf clubs

Tennis racquets

CONCLUSION

Until now, we have been using 2D braiding fabrics that have served

us well in the industry so far. However, our world has come to a stage

where our mineral resources are being depleted at an accelerated

rate; this is viewed as quite unnecessary in the face of 3D braiding,

which can reduce the consumption of these resources, or at least

divert their usage into other directions where 3D braids cannot help.

Through extensive research and careful study of figures, I have

clearly learnt and understood the possibility 3D braiding technology

can provide a word low on mineral resources. I wish to spread this

knowledge I have gained, to you through this white paper. Clearly, we

have a crisis here on our planet, which I believe can be easily solved

through improving our braiding technology and updating it from 2D to

3D.

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