Oven curing an infusion while "wet"


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jamesw
jamesw
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I'm trying to speed up my infusion work process - normally when the resin infusion is complete, I turn off the vacuum. Then leave overnight, then post cure.... I could transfer to the oven straight after turning off vac - any suggested ramps for this to achieve fast cure and 60-70 degree post cure?

Thanks,
James
carbonfibreworks
carbonfibreworks
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Hello Jamesw

I use a fast hardener with the epoxy and hold the part at 20-25 degrees and they can be removed from the mould in under 4 hours, not sure if this helps.

Regards Chris

www.carbonfibreworks.co.uk

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Nick Igoe
Nick Igoe
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I have often cured wet laminates in an oven, this is not that uncommon as it greatly spreads up cycle times when mass manufacturing components.

The trick is to conduct the infusion in the oven as well if possible to prevent damage to the bag and or catching an infusion pipe on the side of the oven as you load up. Somewhere on the datasheet it will tell you the optimum temperature you should go up to and for how long to cure it for. If you post up the resin name so I can search for the technical data sheet and possibly give you the answer if I can find it.

Personally I have always kept the vacuum pump running whilst the part is curing, once the part is under vacuum the pump is not working that hard to maintain the vacuum according to the Busch engineer I once asked.

Far UK
Edited 12 Years Ago by Nick Igoe
Nick Igoe
Nick Igoe
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If the part is purely cosmetic it may be worth trying a Urethayle Acrylate resin as it is possible to add 1-2% of cobalt to the resin before adding the catalyst ( DO NOT MIX COBALT WITH THE HARDENER, IT WILL EXPLODE ). Often these have a much lower viscosity than epoxies and subsequently infuse much easier. The cure times depending on the size of the part can be very quick indeed.

I infused a car bonnet where I was able to remove the part from the mould in under 15 mins. Also if using UA resins with cobalt be careful not to leave large amounts of mixed resin in a bucket as it will exotherm very quickly. As an experiment I left 1/2 a pint in a bucket with a thermocouple in the resin, it reached 250 degrees Celsius in no time.

Far UK
jamesw
jamesw
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Thanks for the replies - I'm using the EC infusion resin - normally work with a 50/50 slow/fast hardener mix if that helps...

James
Nick Igoe
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Ok this is an ambient cure resin and doesnt have the cure profile which I was hoping for. But there is no reason why you cant cure and post cure at the same time so you could warm your mould to and resin to 25C. Mix in your hardener ( not this may effect your working time ) once the part has infused slowly increase the temperature by a few degrees a minute until you reach 60 degrees. Once cured allow the laminate to cool slowly though before demoulding.

Far UK
jamesw
jamesw
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Many thanks !
GO

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