THE GROWTH OF FILAMENT WINDING AS A MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS SUCH AS SPORTING GOODS AND FUEL TANKS, HAS SPURRED DEMAND FOR LOW-COST, HIGH-SPEED FILAMENT WINDING MACHINES. BY USING A NEW MODULAR APPROACH TO FILAMENT WINDING MACHINE DESIGN, A WIDE VARIETY OF MACHINE CONFIGURATIONS, INCLUDING MULTI-SPINDLE MACHINES, CAN BE QUICKLY AND CHEAPLY FABRICATED. THREE LINES OF MACHINES COVER THE SIZE RANGES FROM 100 MM DIAMETER BY 100 MM LENGTH TO 3.5 M DIAMETER AND 10 M LENGTH WITH UP TO SIX AXES. THESE MACHINES INCLUDE FEATURES MAKING THEM IDEAL FOR PRODUCTION WINDING--HIGH-SPEED CARRIAGES AND SPINDLES, SIMPLE CONTROLS, AND IMPROVED RELIABILITY AND MAINTAINABILITY. THE MODULAR DESIGN MAKES THE MACHINES EASY TO SERVICE AND TO FIELD UPGRADE. COMPLEMENTING THE MODULAR MACHINE DESIGN IS A LOW-COST, VERY HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTER CONTROL SYSTEM BASED ON A PERSONAL COMPUTER AND