Qeustion about room temperture curing epoxies?


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twissta
twissta
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Is it ok to put parts into use if you let it cure at room temperature? What are the end problems or results with this process? The parts will be exposed to the elements, because they are motorcycle part for cosmetic appeal.

Thanks in advance,  guys!
Hanaldo
Hanaldo
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Sure it is. I'm assuming (based on the thread title) you are using an epoxy that cures at room temperature and not a high temperature epoxy that would require a post-cure? If this is the case, then it's absolutely fine to put them to use after 24 hours, the epoxy will have reached its initial cure stage and have very good properties. 

If these parts will be exposed to heat that is higher than the Tg of the resin without a post-cure, then you may see increased print-through and in extreme cases you might get discoloration of the resin and possibly distortion. In these cases it is always better to post-cure, though it's still possible to put the parts to use and they will post-cure naturally - the likely outcome being that you get a bit of print-through. 
MarkMK
MarkMK
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Just to satisfy my own curiosity, I placed a part I'd made in the garden on what was probably the hottest day we'd seen here in the UK this year. It was quite a thin and fairly flexible laminate that had only 3 plies of lightweight cloth, with only an ambient cure to its name. 

Temperatures were in excess of 30°C for most of the day and I made sure it was in direct sunlight from morning 'til evening, so no doubt surface temps were a fair bit higher, although I didn't measure. 

The part was noticeably softer and more flexible as it got hot, but didn't appear to lose its shape (it was a mudguard)  and I could find no visible surface degradation afterwards. I'm not saying that it'd stand up perfectly to continual exposure of that kind indefinitely, although its likely to have post-cured naturally to some degree, but it stood up better than I expected it to.
Hanaldo
Hanaldo
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Yeh it'll be totally fine. It will be softer while it is hot (in direct sunlight at 30 degrees, the part was likely at 80-90 degrees), but it will then return to its hard state when it cools down and it will have increased its Tg by a bit depending on how long it was hot etc. Print-through is likely, but depends on the resin content of the part - a better/lower resin content will result in more print through, whereas a resin rich part will see less print. 

Distortion is unlikely, especially on a curved object like a mudguard where the carbon is under tension, it tends to happen easier on flat panels. A curved object will be more likely to twist if it lacks fibre orientation at 45 degrees, but it will take some prolonged exposure to heat well above the Tg of the resin to occur if the part is free standing. If the part is twisted, then heated beyond its Tg, then allowed to cool in that position then this will likely result in distortion. 

Simply put, in most cases you will be fine. 
Edited 10 Years Ago by Hanaldo
ArturK
ArturK
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Without post-curing you will notice "print" at carbon fiber after exposing to sun.
Many epoxy resin are a little bit brittle without post-curing.

I always advice to post-cure carbon fiber parts even to 50-60 C .

Carbon fiber sheets and composites .
www.dexcraft.com
GO

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