be selected from the same types of fibers as the continuous fiber it need not necessarily be the same as the continuous fiber however opan fiber is preferred for the staple fiber too in implementing the present invention segments having a segment arc of for example 68 degrees are cut from the fabric sheet with the segment having the outside diameter and the inside diameter of the preform to be manufactured sixty eight degree arcs are preferred since this arc dimension minimizes butt joint overlap within the parts being manufactured however other arc dimensions may be used if desired the inside and outside diameters of the arc segments are chosen based upon the preform to be manufactured for instance rotor preforms can be manufactured from segments having an inside radius of 5 5 inches and an outside radius of 10 5 inches stator preforms can be manufactured from segments having an inside radius of 4 875 inches and an outside radius of 9 75 inches those skilled in the art will have no difficulty in setting the appropriate inside and outside diameters for the specific preform type to be manufactured these segments are then needled together following a helical lay up pattern to a specified weight and dimension based upon the desired preform density for the application the fabric layers are interlocked by the staple fibers which are transported by the needles into the z direction needling may be carried out with an annular needling machine such as that described in u s pat no 5 388 320 the entire disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference annular needling is the process of continuously placing individual fabric segments one.