More About Composites (1) Production Method
The forming processes of composite materials are the basis and fundamental parts for the composites industry development. With more and more fields apply composite materials, our industry has developed rapidly with the traditional processes gradually improved while new methods constantly emerged.
The production process mainly includes the following two aspects:
1 - forming i.e. the prepreg is laid into a certain shape according to the requirements of the product, which is generally the shape of the product;
2 – curing i.e. the laminated prepreg that has been laid into a certain shape is fixed under the influence of factors such as temperature, time and pressure, and can meet the expected performance requirements.
(1) Hand lay-up - wet layup;
(2) Injection molding;
(3) Resin transfer molding (RTM technology);
(4) Bag pressing method (pressure bag method);
(5) Vacuum bagging;
(6) Autoclave;
(7) Hydraulic kettle molding;
(8) Thermal expansion molding;
(9) Sandwich structure molding;
(10) Compression molding (SMC sheet, BMC dough);
(11) Continuous sheet forming;
(12) Resin casting;
(13) Pultrusion;
(14) Continuous filament winding;
(15) Injection molding;
(16) Extrusion;
(17) Centrifugal casting tube;
The principles of choosing the production method:
When choosing a production method, it is necessary to satisfy a variety of factors such as material performance, product quality and economic benefits at the same time, including:
1. The shape and size of the product
2. Product performance and quality requirements (such physical and chemical properties of material, product strength and surface, etc.)
3. Production batch size and lead time (allowable production cycle)
4. Equipment conditions and funds that the company can provide
5. Comprehensive economic benefits
