Abstract: In bending rods reinforced with continuous fibers, buckling or stretching of reinforcing fibers is reduced by conforming the continuous fibers to a helical configuration within the rods before or when the rods are bent. The helical configuration causes fibers near the surface of the rod to travel substantially the same distance when the rod is bent whether the fibers are on the inside radius or the outside radius of the bend.

Abstract: Winding of multiple tows upon a mandrel to form a desired article, such as a tube, is assisted by passing the multiple tows in contact with an exterior surface of a guide which is heated during the winding operation. The guide includes a first guide portion and a also a second guide portion having longitudinal axes which define an angle with respect to each other. The guide is positioned so that either guide portion is capable of receiving the tows so as to contact the exterior surface of the guide before being wound upon the mandrel. Employing the heated guide in accordance with the invention has been found to assist in aligning and at least partially consolidating the tows in a side-by-side relationship for delivery to the mandrel.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for twisting and/or postforming a plastic rod reinforced with continuous reinforcing fibers is described. A rod with continuous reinforcing fibers already in a helical configuration may be postformed by this method and apparatus with or without additional twist being imparted. A fiber reinforced rod with continuous longitudinally aligned unidirectional fibers may also be postformed by this method and apparatus by twisting and then postforming the rod. The reinforced plastic rod is more easily postformed if the reinforcing fibers are conformed to a helical configuration in which the number of helices in a given length of the rod is correlated to the diameter of the rod and to the degree of bend to be postformed in the rod. The method for this and the rod with the helical fibers is described.