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The Benefits of

3-D Woven
Composites
 Benefits of 3D Woven Composites | Page 2 of 6

The Benefits of 3-D Woven Composites

Most fabrics are woven in two dimensions: The X axis, or length; and the Y axis, or width.

Many of Bally Ribbon Mills’ (BRM) products, such as webbing, straps, belts, and tapes, fall into this
category of woven fabrics. They have been the foundation of our business since our founding in 1923.

However, since receiving a research contract in 1991 from the United States Air Force Research Laboratory
(AFRL), our Advanced Products Group has been hard at work developing 3-D weaving capabilities. Today,
we fabricate 3-D woven composite structures for the aerospace, automotive, construction, military, and
safety industries, among others.

What’s 3-D Weaving?

3-D woven composites are, exactly as their
name implies, structures that are woven in three
dimensions. In addition to the X and Y dimensions
that every woven fabric has, 3-D woven fabrics
include weaving through the thickness, or the Z axis.
This results in the production of complex, single-
piece structures.

Looms, the primary tool for weaving fabrics, are

nearly as old as civilization itself. They are ideal
machines for weaving 2-D fabrics, hence their
longevity, but are not generally capable of weaving
3-D fabrics without extensive tooling.

Upon receipt of the AFRL research contract, we began to develop the requisite technology for 3-D
weaving. Alterations to a number of our existing looms ultimately lead to many 3-D weaving innovations,
including the creation of our proprietary, patented, fully automated 3-D Bias Loom, capable of creating
orthogonal, isotropic, and quasi-isotropic composites, as well as near-net-shape and complex net shape
preforms.

www.ballyribbon.com
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Benefits of 3-D Weaving

3-D weaving is an emerging technology. The same types of products that BRM makes using
3-D weaving techniques are more commonly produced as 2-D composites.

However, BRM’s 3-D weaving capabilities carry a number of benefits over 2-D composite
production and even over more traditional building materials, such as steel and aluminum.

✓ Weight
3-D woven composites are drastically lighter than metal structures.

This is particularly relevant to the aerospace industry. Every pound of weight saved from an aircraft
is estimated to save the aircraft’s operator roughly $1 million in operating expenses, namely in fuel, over
the lifetime of that aircraft. Smart utilization of 3-D woven composite structures in aircraft design can
reduce the weight of an aircraft by up to 30%, resulting in considerable operational cost savings.

✓ Elimination of Delamination
Delamination is the primary damage mechanism in 2-D laminated composites.

Delamination occurs when two or more layers of a 2-D woven composite come apart, or delaminate, from
each other. Delamination undermines the strength and reliability of the part, which must be replaced to
prevent damage and severe safety issues.

3-D weaving produces near-net-shape composite structures that are fully interconnected by their yarn,
as opposed to 2-D composites which include a number of different layers of materials artificially bonded
together. Because of this, there is no risk of delamination in 3-D woven composites, ensuring they retain
strength and reliability.

✓ Reduced Crack Risk

In addition to delamination, 2-D laminated composites are prone to cracking.

This is especially true in structures with bends, such as T-shaped structures. Because of curvature
limitations in the layers, many shapes have considerable gaps in joints and intersections. These spaces and
pockets are often filled with resin and are prone to cracking.

3-D woven composites, even in complex shapes, have no empty pockets — their structural integrity
extends along all three axes. Therefore, crack rates in 3-D woven composites are far lower than in 2-D
laminated composites.

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 Benefits of 3D Woven Composites | Page 4 of 6

✓ Lower Production Times

2-D composite production by its very nature is a long and precise process. In 2-D composite production:

 umerous layers of 2-D material are woven, either individually or in larger format and then cut to size.
N
These layers are then:

→ Pre-impregnated with certain resins, making them what are known as prepreg materials
→ Stacked and shaped into the requisite form, an expensive and extremely time consuming
process called plying which is often done by hand
→ Laminated together in shape by infusion with additional resins — some processes and
structures even require the material layers to be stitched together prior to lamination
→ Set for a period of time during which the resins cure

After the structures are properly cured, further machining is required to form a finished product.
Required secondary machining processes can include but are not limited to:

→ Cutting
→ Scraping
→ Sanding
→ Deburring
→ Drilling

With the proper techniques, knowledge, expertise, and capabilities — all of which BRM has — 3-D weaving
of composite structures is a simpler, faster, and more cost efficient means of production than 2-D
composite lamination.

3D weaving looms weave, weft and warp yarns along the X and Y axis, the same as traditional 2-D looms
do. The difference in a 3-D loom is that, instead of the fabric continuing along the Y axis, it builds upon
itself vertically — weft and warp yarns are not only woven together on one plane, but one plane is woven
together with the next, as well. It is even possible with advanced techniques to weave yarns in at 45º
angles, supporting and strengthening the 3-D fabric.

Aside from designing a 3-D weave, which requires highly skilled design engineers, the 3-D weaving
process is fully automated and results in net shape or near net shape parts. This dramatically reduces
manufacturing time despite the increased complexity of the 3-D weaving process.

By weaving entire structures in 3-D, the slow and costly plying process — the longest and most costly
portion of manufacturing a 2-D laminated composite structure — is completely eliminated, significantly
speeding production and lowering cost.

www.ballyribbon.com
 Benefits of 3D Woven Composites | Page 5 of 6

✓ Cost
Utilizing 3-D woven composite structures in place of traditional metal or 2-D laminated composites can
provide cost savings through both the manufacturing process and your product’s operational lifetime.
Working with BRM will reduce your project costs both directly and indirectly.

Directly, cost savings come from our patented automated 3-D weaving
technology and our near net shape capabilities: together, they reduce labor
and secondary machining costs.

Indirectly, cost savings come from a number of places. There are the
operational cost savings, in fuel, that they create. Stronger, more resilient,
and less prone to breakage than 2-D laminated composites, BRM’s 3-D
woven composites need to be replaced much less often, reducing your
replacement and maintenance costs.

www.ballyribbon.com
About Bally Ribbon Mills
For more than 20 years, Bally Ribbon Mills has been a pioneer of the field
of 3-D woven composites. We have perfected all aspects of the process,
from designing 3-D weaves to quality assurance of completed composite
structures.

To learn more about 3-D woven composites, including more of the ways
that they can benefit your projects, contact Bally Ribbon Mills today.

Learn More About Our View Our

3D Woven Composites Resource Library

23 North 7th Street Bally, PA 19503

Tel: 610-845-2211 • Fax: 610-845-8013
www.BallyRibbon.com • e-mail: brm@ballyribbon.com