THE CONCEPT OF ON-LINE CONSOLIDATION IN A THERMOPLASTIC FILAMENT WINDING PROCESS IS INVESTIGATED. IN-SITU CONSOLIDATION IS ACHIEVED WITH PREIMPREGNATED CARBON/PEEK (POLY ETHER ETHER KETONE) TOW UTILIZING INFRARED RADIATION AND HOT GAS CONVECTION FOR THE HEATING AND WELDING PROCESS. DEVELOPMENT OF THE EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS WAS FOCUSED ON MAXIMIZING PARAMETER VARIABILITY. THE MATRIX TEMPERATURE IS RAISED TO JUST BELOW MELT TEMPERATURE IN A PREHEATING CHAMBER. THE REMAINING ENERGY NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE PROCESSING TEMPERATURE IS ADDED AT THE NIP-POINT USING EITHER AN INFRARED SPOT HEATER OR FLAMELESS NITROGEN TORCH. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PREHEATING CHAMBER IS DISCUSSED IN ITS APPLICATION TO MANUFACTURING RATE. DEVELOPMENT OF PRELIMINARY SUB-MODELS OF THE SYSTEM ARE SHOWN, AND THE CONSOLIDATION PARAMETERS OF TIME, TEMPERATURE, AND PRESSURE ARE INVESTIGATED AND DISCUSSED TO DEVELOP AN OPTIMIZ