Three-dimensional hexagonal braiding

The hexagonal braiding approach is based on a hexagonal arrangement of horngears. This allows a smaller incremental movement of the carriers and therefore a different passing angle between the filaments and a denser packing of horngears. This leads to the further development of the hexagonal approach for use in microfilament braiding and the braiding of large preforms for fiber-reinforced applications. In addition, the hexagonal braiding approach allows the manufacturing of different kinds of near-net-shaped braids than does Cartesian braids because it is based on a 60-degree arrangement. In this chapter, the principle and the possibilities of hexagonal braiding will be shown and compared to other three-dimensional (3D) braiding approaches after a short overview of previous works which have led to the hexagonal approach. Further fields of application and research are introduced by presenting current research projects and the characteristics and shapes of hexagonal braids.