mould making

Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

Back

mould making

Author	Message
cvasilliou	c cvasilliou posted 6 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
c Group: Forum Members Posts: 16, Visits: 102	what material/s should i use to create a mould and then applying pre-preg to that mould.i imagine a foam of high temperature resistance cause in the process we have to cure it in high temperatures right?any other ideas?i want the material to be as cheap as possible.
	Reply Like 2
Fasta	Fasta posted 6 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 468, Visits: 3.5K	+x cvasilliou - 9/1/2018 8:41:25 AM what material/s should i use to create a mould and then applying pre-preg to that mould.i imagine a foam of high temperature resistance cause in the process we have to cure it in high temperatures right?any other ideas?i want the material to be as cheap as possible. For simple shapes you can use a metal like steel or aluminium sheet to bend and form a simple shapes of flat surfaces and bends. For complex shapes you usually need proper moulds made from carbon fibre or fibreglass. The fibreglass moulds are much cheaper but will have about 0.1% expansion to consider. Easy composites also have their tooling board which can shaped/CNC machined, then sealed ready for use with pre preg. Fastacraft Facebook page Edited 6 Years Ago by Fasta
	Reply Like 2
Steve Broad	Steve Broad posted 6 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 408, Visits: 4.1K	What are you thinking of making?
	Reply Like 2
scottracing	scottracing posted 6 Years Ago Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 460, Visits: 5.2K	As above it depends on what you are making and more importantly the cure cycle and temperature of the prepreg. If its aerospace cure prepreg at 180 then it needs to be high temp block/ composite or metallic tooling. If its lower temp cure like 55-60 degrees you can use pu block , wood and even 3d printed moulds. If you are making a one off part then theres not much point spending lots of money on the mould.
	Reply Like 1
cvasilliou	c cvasilliou posted 6 Years Ago HOT Post Details
c Group: Forum Members Posts: 16, Visits: 102	im thinking about making a mould of froint spoiler/front hoop of a formula student car.im thinking about a foam(pvc) who it whould sustain high temperatures?i did some search and i saw PVC is able to sustain that amount of temperatures but not for very long.im i right?
	Reply Like 2
Fasta	Fasta posted 6 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 468, Visits: 3.5K	+x cvasilliou - 9/3/2018 3:09:00 PM im thinking about making a mould of froint spoiler/front hoop of a formula student car.im thinking about a foam(pvc) who it whould sustain high temperatures?i did some search and i saw PVC is able to sustain that amount of temperatures but not for very long.im i right? I wouldn't do that. The PVC can take the temperature when processed within a new part from a mould but I would not use it as a temp mould. The PVC goes a little soft and can even be heat formed into new shapes at just 90C. As a mould it could change shape when you cook your part?? Fastacraft Facebook page Edited 6 Years Ago by Fasta
	Reply Like 2
Hanaldo	Hanaldo posted 6 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 28K	Not sure what PVC foam you're looking at, but I vacuum form PVC foam core by baking it at 100C under vacuum for 2 hours. It softens completely and takes on the shape of the mould I put it in, so it doesnt seem like a good choice of material for a pre-preg mould to me.
	Reply Like 2
cvasilliou	c cvasilliou posted 6 Years Ago HOT Post Details
c Group: Forum Members Posts: 16, Visits: 102	maybe i can use that material i found on easy composites site https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/eb700-high-temperature-epoxy-tooling-board of course i need a cnc for it.
	Reply Like 2
Hanaldo	Hanaldo posted 6 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 28K	Yes, you could use the epoxy tooling board - do you need that level of accuracy though? Why not just make a fibreglass mould? By far the most straightforward and cheapest method.
	Reply Like 3