Use, in the manufacture of a composite component, of a penetration operation to improve the transverse electric conductivity of the composite component

A method for making a composite part by forming a stack of at least two reinforcement layers of carbon fibres between which is sandwiched a non-electrically conductive layer of thermoplastic or thermosetting material or a mixture of thermoplastic and thermosetting materials, said method further comprising the steps of combining said stack with an uncured resin to form a resin infused stack and then curing said resin infused stack to form said composite part, wherein said method comprises a perforation step in which the carbon fibres located in said reinforcement layers are used to form a sufficient number of electrical connections between said reinforcement layers, so as to improve the transverse electrical conductivity of said composite part, said perforation step comprising the steps of penetrating transversely through said reinforcement, layers and said non-electrically conductive layer with a needle and then removing said needle so as to form a perforation.