New composite structural member for high dynamic machinery applications using cold forging-based manufacturing method

Carbon fiber composites are typically manufactured using processes such as Resin Transfer Molding (RTM), Vacuum Assisted Molding and autoclave processing, which require specialized equipment and heat treatment. These factors increase production costs and resource consumption, making local manufacturing challenging. In this research, commercially available carbon fiber tubes are held together using epoxy carbon fiber composites utilizing the cold forging technique, which requires no additional external energy and resources. An initial study on the cold forged composite coupons revealed that the preparation methods influence the strength of samples due to the elevated level of porosity found using XCT. The span prototype was experimentally tested for deflection subjected to a simply supported beam and yielded a stiffness of 6.4 N/µm. There was a subtle variation compared to the theoretical value resulting from the measurement errors, CMM accuracy, and manufacturing process. Combining CFRP tubes utilizing random epoxy carbon fiber composites utilizing this method has the potential to be used to manufacture robot links or other dynamic machine structures.