Preparation of continuous carbon fiber/polyamide 6 prepreg and rectangular box forming by hot stamping

The continuous carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 6 (CF/PA6) unidirectional prepreg of 60 mm width was prepared by a molten impregnation method. A structure of CF/PA6 composites rectangular box was then manufactured by hot stamping method. The results show that the fiber spread width shows a linear relationship with the wrap angle. The large pretension force should be avoided due to the high pulling force which will be accumulated and result in the fiber's breaking up. The high pulling speed results in pool impregnation quality. The pre-heating of CF can improve the pool impregnation quality under high pulling speed. In hot stamping, the pre-consolidation is necessary and the desirable preheating temperature and forming temperature are in the range of 260-280℃ and 130-160℃, respectively.