Pre-Pregs not curing


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Jeff Clemmons
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Hello all,

              I am currently having a problem with my Xpreg XC110 prepreg. In my last test the prepreg did not cure and was still  gooey once the cure cycle was complete. My oven, which is home is set up with a proper PID controller complete with the thermo coupling. Its shows to have reached the temperatures that are recommended for the XC110 system. My mold is a CNC'ed piece of aluminum 2" thick. The mold itself is 20" x 46" x 2" With basically the back and sides of a guitar cnc'ed into it. When I did the trial run once it had soaked for an hour at the higher temp I lifted the oven off the mold so it could room cool. So, what would be my problem? 
A. I should have left the oven over the part to let it slow cool
B. the aluminum is taking to long to reach temperature
C. the oven isn't actually reaching the temperature the thermo coupling says it is. 
Any other ideas on what it may be would be of great help.

Also, unlike the video my surface finish is almost like dry carbon, there is no clear looking finish on it at all. Does the Paper side of the pre-preg go down first or the plastic side? or does it matter? and could it be the either over cooked or under cooked problem that could have also caused that?  Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

JC
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Jeff Clemmons
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MarkMK - 6/21/2018 8:10:05 AM
I'd also recommend buying a remote thermocouple unit. You can buy these fairly cheaply on places like Ebay

If you get one that has two probe wires, long enough to extend outside of your oven, you can gum tape the ends onto selected places on the part in the mould and monitor actual temperatures there rather than reply upon the fixed thermocouple on your oven set-up

These will, hopefully, provide you with much better assurance of the temperature your mould is running at


My idea exactly Mark, I already have a remote thermocouple unit. I have drilled holes about 3/4 the way through the mould from the bottom and plan to manually read the temperatures of the mould itself at various points in the mould during a dry run through a cycle. I put 9 holes in it, some close to the cavity, some near the edges of the mold. Once I know how long it take to get the entire mould to the soak temp, I should be able to merely add that amount of time to the suggested soak time and everything work. I plan on running this test this weekend. Thanks for your suggestions!


JC
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