Manufactured material having a combination of a reinforcement material and a low melt material

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a material, including a thermoset material, comprising: providing a reinforcement fiber; combining a low melt fiber with the reinforcement fiber using the method of plying, twisting, air texturing, air entanglement, yarn made via the coating extrusion process, whereas the coated area has a lower melt than the core and the reinforcement fiber, co-weaving, co-mingling, and any combination thereof; and, applying heat to the combination to melt the low melt fiber to form a fiber composite wherein a melting point of the reinforcement fiber is higher than the operational temperature resulting from the application of the heat. The fiber combination can be a fabric and can be hydrophobic. The fiber combination or fabric can include properties taken from the group consisting of lighter thermoplastic combination, fracture resistance or elimination, increased impact resistance, vibration damping, low conductivity, reduced structural failures, dielectric properties, and any combination thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A reinforced fabric comprising:
 a fiber composite having a reinforcement fiber and a low melt fiber wherein the low melt fiber is heated to above a low melt melting point forming a fiber composite wherein a reinforcement fiber melting point is higher than the low melt melting point; and,   a coating on a coated area of the reinforcement fiber wherein the coated area includes a lower melt temperature than a core of the reinforcement fiber.   
     
     
         2 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein the reinforced fiber is a multifilament yarn having a polyolefin filament. 
     
     
         3 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 2  wherein the polyolefin filament is a polypropylene filament. 
     
     
         4 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 3  wherein the polypropylene filament has a crystallinity greater than 50% when measured using wide-angle x-ray scattering. 
     
     
         5 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein the fiber composite is hydrophobic. 
     
     
         6 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein the fiber composite includes micro voids. 
     
     
         7 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein the fiber composite can include material taken from the group consisting of carbon, glass, aramids, basalt, and any combination. 
     
     
         8 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein the reinforcement fiber can have a physical property taken from the group consisting of a denier of less than about 1 grams/30 meters, a filament drawn at a draw ratio of greater than about 6, a modulus greater than about 40 grams/denier, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein a reinforcement fiber amount compared is in a range of 10% to 90% of a composition by volume. 
     
     
         10 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein a reinforcement fiber amount compared is in a range of 10% to 90% of a composition by weight. 
     
     
         11 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein the low melt fiber is a thermoplastic fiber. 
     
     
         12 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein the fiber composite is a combination of the reinforcement fiber woven with the low melt fiber prior to an application of heat to melt the low melt fiber. 
     
     
         13 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein the fiber composite is adapted to be included in a lay-up process for manufacturing an article wherein one of a layer is the fiber composite. 
     
     
         14 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 13  wherein the lay-up process includes a ramp up rate of 10 degrees per minute or less to 140° C. 
     
     
         15 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 13  wherein the lay-up process includes a dwell time of 10 minutes or more at 150° C. 
     
     
         16 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 13  wherein the lay-up process includes a cooling cycle at or below 50° C. 
     
     
         17 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein the fiber composite has a denier in a range of 300 to 3250. 
     
     
         18 . The reinforced fabric of  claim 1  wherein the fiber composite has a tensile strength in a range of 30 to 40 lbs. 
     
     
         19 . The fiber composite of  claim 1  wherein the fiber composite has a tenacity in a range of 4.50 to 6.50 grams per denier. 
     
     
         20 . A reinforced thermoset fabric comprising:
 a reinforcement fiber;   a low melt fiber integrated with the reinforcement fiber using a method of plying, twisting, air texturing, air entanglement, co-weaving, co-mingling, and any combination thereof;   wherein the reinforcement fiber includes a coating applied to a coated area of the reinforcement fiber during an extrusion process;   whereas the coating has a lower melt temperature than the reinforcement fiber; and,   whereas the low melt fiber is adapted to melt upon an application of a heat to form a fiber composite wherein a melting point of the reinforcement fiber is higher than an operational temperature resulting from the application of the heat.   
     
     
         21 . The reinforced thermoset fabric of  claim 20  wherein the low melt fiber has a melting point of less than 140° C. and the reinforcement fiber has a melting point of more than 140° C. 
     
     
         22 . The reinforced thermoset fabric of  claim 20  wherein a reinforcement fiber amount is more than twenty percent of a composition by volume. 
     
     
         23 . The reinforced thermoset fabric of  claim 20  wherein a reinforcement fiber amount is more than twenty percent of a composition by weight. 
     
     
         24 . The reinforced thermoset fabric of  claim 20  wherein the reinforcement fiber can include a physical property taken from the group consisting of a denier of less than about 300 grams/9000 meters, a filaments drawn at a draw ratio of greater than about 6, a modulus greater than about 40 grams/denier, a ratio of equatorial intensity to meridional intensity greater than about 1.0 according to SAXS measuring techniques, a crystallinity greater than 50% when measured using wide-angle x-ray scattering and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         25 . A fabric material comprising:
 a reinforcement fiber;   a low melt fiber combined with the reinforcement fiber using a method of plying, twisting, air texturing, air entanglement, co-weaving, co-mingling, and any combination thereof;   whereas a coated area has a lower melting point than a core of the reinforcement fiber and,   where the combination of the reinforcement fiber and the low melt fiber is heated to melt the low melt fiber to form a fiber composite wherein a melting point of the reinforcement fiber is higher than an operational temperature resulting from an application of a heat.   
     
     
         26 . The fabric material of  claim 25  wherein the low melt fiber is combined with the reinforcement fiber using a method of a coating process. 
     
     
         27 . The fabric material of  claim 26  wherein the method is a coating extrusion process.