+x

 

Warren (Staff) - 6/23/2020 4:13:47 PM

Although Steve is technically correct, sometimes it is nice to be able to post cure carbon car panels to help avoid any softening when first exposed to a hot sunny day. Although in most climates, at worst you might get a little bit of fibre print from such sun exposure, it can be beneficial to post cure it anyway.  If you choose to do so, you would want to post cure the mould as well before use.

Generally for parts where there is likely a lag in time between making and fitting of a few weeks, its unlikely to be a major issue.  However very hot/sunny climates and brand new fresh parts can cause a few issues with print when the part softens slightly on first exposure to the suns heat.

+x

 

Steve Broad - 6/23/2020 8:15:57 PM

+x

 

Warren (Staff) - 6/23/2020 4:13:47 PM

Although Steve is technically correct, sometimes it is nice to be able to post cure carbon car panels to help avoid any softening when first exposed to a hot sunny day. Although in most climates, at worst you might get a little bit of fibre print from such sun exposure, it can be beneficial to post cure it anyway.  If you choose to do so, you would want to post cure the mould as well before use.

Generally for parts where there is likely a lag in time between making and fitting of a few weeks, its unlikely to be a major issue.  However very hot/sunny climates and brand new fresh parts can cause a few issues with print when the part softens slightly on first exposure to the suns heat.

The OP was asking about post curing the moulds, not the items :-) Post curing the carbon parts is a good idea if there is any chance of them being exposed to the sun for long periods, as you say. If using standard epoxy resin, I am guessing that the max temp you can post cure to is around 80 deg C ?

Post curing carbon needs to be done in accordance to the manufacturers instructions. This tends to be an increase of around 0.3 deg C per minute, which is pretty slow. Whether this is important I have no idea, but I am sure Warren does.

+x

 

Hanaldo - 6/24/2020 12:57:21 AM

+x

 

Steve Broad - 6/23/2020 8:15:57 PM

+x

 

Warren (Staff) - 6/23/2020 4:13:47 PM

Although Steve is technically correct, sometimes it is nice to be able to post cure carbon car panels to help avoid any softening when first exposed to a hot sunny day. Although in most climates, at worst you might get a little bit of fibre print from such sun exposure, it can be beneficial to post cure it anyway.  If you choose to do so, you would want to post cure the mould as well before use.

Generally for parts where there is likely a lag in time between making and fitting of a few weeks, its unlikely to be a major issue.  However very hot/sunny climates and brand new fresh parts can cause a few issues with print when the part softens slightly on first exposure to the suns heat.

The OP was asking about post curing the moulds, not the items :-) Post curing the carbon parts is a good idea if there is any chance of them being exposed to the sun for long periods, as you say. If using standard epoxy resin, I am guessing that the max temp you can post cure to is around 80 deg C ?

Post curing carbon needs to be done in accordance to the manufacturers instructions. This tends to be an increase of around 0.3 deg C per minute, which is pretty slow. Whether this is important I have no idea, but I am sure Warren does.

I'm sure Warren understood the OP's question, but it is always better to post-cure the carbon part BEFORE demoulding; in which case the mould also needs post curing prior to making the part. 

When post-curing prior to demoulding for both the mould and the final component, ramp rate is less critical and you can go straight to 50C.