MANUFACTURING AND DESIGN DEFECTS IN SPORTING GOODS: WHY THEY OCCUR AND HOW TO AVOID THEM

摘要

Defects occur in composite structures during the design and/or the manufacturing process in making composite parts. This paper looks specifically at the composites sporting goods and recreational industry which typically takes a widely different approach to defects than the aerospace industry. In particular, the paper addresses defects often found within composite bicycles and archery arrows based upon a number of recent injurious failures related to observed defects. The types of defects observed within these industries are in many cases similar to those observed over time within the aerospace industry. However, aerospace learned over the years how to control the design and processing more rigidly to avoid similar defects early on. The purpose of this paper is to review the types of defects observed within the sporting goods industry and suggest why they occur and how to avoid them.