Fiberglass tube manufacturing process

There are three main fiberglass pipe production processes:

1. reciprocating fiber winding,

2. continuous fiber winding, and

3. centrifugal casting.

Reciprocating fiber winding process (a fixed length method):

The dipping groove moves back and forth with the rotating core mold. A long fiberglass fiber is placed at a certain angle to the core mold’s axis. The ratio of the speeds controls the auxiliary angle. It is the ratio of the moving speed of the dipping groove to the core mold’s rotational speed. The winding layers increase until the designed wall thickness is reached. After the winding is completed, the resin in the product is basically cured. After curing, remove the core mold from the fiberglass tube.

A continuous method, the fiber winding process, makes the pipe. It does this by advancing the core mold through a feeding station. This station supplies a resin-impregnated, untwisted yarn, short-cut fiberglass fibers, and a resin-sand mix.

Centrifugal casting (a fixed-length method):

A steel mold on the bearing holds it. It is fed cut glass fiber reinforced material and sand. A catalyst is added to unsaturated resin. It is injected into one end of the steel mold to impregnate the reinforced material. Centrifugal force replaces the air in the fibers and fillers with resin. This makes a dense, poreless composite material. The pipe’s inner wall is a smooth, glossy, resin-rich layer. The pipe solidifies at higher temperatures. The pipe manufactured by this method is also known as fiberglass sand pipe.

Now, many more manufacturers use the reciprocating fiber winding process to make pipes than the other two processes. One reason is that the fiberglass pipes made by the reciprocating fiber winding process are more useful.