Hi Guys,

Wondered if anyone had post cured any of their resin infused parts?

I see on the EC website/shop under technical questions, thereis a little on the subject saying that you can post cure IN2 resin to raise the heat distortion temp.

My part needs to be good for up to 80 degrees C

Many thanks

Brett

As with many post-cure cycles for resins, the post-cure cycle for ourIN2 Epoxy Infusion Resin is not too sensitive (which again explains a range ofsuggested cycles) and a range of different post-cure cycles will produce goodresults, specifically improved mechanical performance and elevatedHDT/operating temperature. Post-curing parts that will be used at or exposed toelevated operating temperatures (such as vehicle bonnets/hoods in directsunlight, engine-bay parts, car interior parts etc.) is strongly recommended toprevent distortion of the parts when they are put into service and experiencethese higher temperatures.

Where possible, parts should be post-cured still inside the mould toreduce distortion and improve surface finish (i.e. reduce 'print-through').When post-curing parts in the mould, it is important to post-cure them withoutdemoulding at all (i.e. don’t demould and then put them back into the mould)otherwise you can get some strange patterns on the surface where some areas arepost cured in direct contact with the mould surface and others are not.

A simple and very effective post-cure cycle with the IN2 Infusion Resin(or EL2 Epoxy Laminating Resin) is as follows:

CYCLE #1 SUITABLE FOR MOST SITUATIONS

1. 24hrs at room temperature
2. 6hrs at 60°C

If you’re encountering any surface finish issues (faint print-through)then you can experiment with a slower 'ramp rate' which sometimes improvesthings:

CYCLE #2 SUGGESTED FOR SUBTLE IMPROVEMENTS TO SURFACE FINISH

1. 24hrs at room temperature
2. 2hrs at 40°C
3. 2hrs at 50°C
4. 5hrs at 60°C

If you need to psuh the HDT of the finished part higher then you couldincrease post-cure up to a maximum of 80°C as follows:

CYCLE #3 SUGGESTED FOR HIGHEST POSSIBLE HDT/OPERATING TEMPERATURE

1. 24hrs at room temperature
2. 2hrs at 40°C
3. 2hrs at 50°C
4. 2hrs at 60°C
5. 2hrs at 70°C
6. 4hrs at 80°C

These are all just suggestions. Most situations just call for option #1;6hrs at 60°C. Many customers also find that they can dispense with the 24hrscure at ambient and simply load newly infused parts into the oven to begin thecure however this is something that you would need to experiment with yourself.A cure at ambient temeprature before post-cure is generally favoured with mostresin systems.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Its nice to know that i can work with the IN2 resin and not have to buy in special high temp stuff!