Advances in processing of continuous fibre reinforced composites with thermoplastic matrix

In recent years, significant progress has been made in the manufacture of high performance thermoplastic composites using continuous fibre reinforcements and thermoplastic resins. The advantages of thermoplastic composites lie in their potentials for rapid, low-cost mass production. These potentials are currently limited by the development of suitable processing technologies. In this paper, costeffective material forms of thermoplastic composites, their manufacturing techniques and the current processing methods as well as associated forming deformation mechanisms are reviewed for production of fibre reinforced thermoplastic composite parts