Producing braided fibre composite with regions having different stiffness properties

摘要

A process for manufacturing an article such as a braided fibre composite golf club shaft or a prosthetic implant comprises: specifying forces at nodes of a computer-generated geometric model of the article; calculating mechanical stiffness properties for various regions of the article based on the specified forces and desired displacements of the article when the specified forces are applied; and manufacturing the article as a plurality of different regions having the calculated mechanical stiffness properties by controlling a manufacturing machine in accordance with machine control instructions derived from the calculated mechanical stiffness properties. The specified forces are based on the in vivo forces applied to a body part and the desired displacements are based on the in vivo responses generated in the body part when the in vivo forces are applied.