Laminated Moulded Parts and Manufacture Thereof

A method of moulding a moulding material to form a laminated moulded part of fibre-reinforced resin matrix composite material, the method comprising the steps of:

• i. disposing a first ply of a prepreg material on a mould, the first ply of prepreg material comprising fibres at least partially impregnated with a resin;
• ii. disposing a rope around at least a part of a periphery of the first ply, the rope being located inwardly of a peripheral edge of the first ply, the rope comprising a plurality of strands of fibres twisted together;
• iii. before or after step ii, disposing a second ply of a prepreg material on the first ply, the second ply of prepreg material comprising fibres at least partially impregnated with a resin, at least a portion of a peripheral edge of the second ply being located inwardly of a corresponding portion of the peripheral edge of the first ply, steps ii and iii providing an assembly in which the peripheral edge of the second ply is located inwardly of the rope;
• iv. folding over at least a portion of the periphery of the first ply to as to wrap around the rope and cover the corresponding peripheral edge of the second ply;
• v. disposing the resultant moulding material in a mould tool;
• vi. closing the mould tool to define a closed mould cavity containing the moulding material;
• and
• vii. applying pressure to the mould cavity to cause resin to flow and impregnate the fibres and to configure the moulding material in a fully moulded shape to form a laminated moulded part from the moulding material.