The Role of Melting on Intimate Contact Development in Laser-Assisted Tape Placement of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites

Laser-assisted tape placement (LATP) and thermoplastic composites (TPCs) pre-impregnated (prepreg) tapes are a promising combination of technologies; given the in-situ capabilities of the TPCs and the high degree of automation achievable with LATP. However, laminate quality, measured as final void content, tends to decrease when increasing...