Production Method (7) – Autoclave
Carbon fiber composite materials first appeared in the 1940s in the United States and were widely used in industry. With the advantages of carbon fiber materials becoming well-known, more and more fields have applied carbon fiber in their products. Autoclave is one of the main production processes of carbon fiber products. This article introduces the advantages and disadvantages of carbon fiber using autoclave production method.
Firstly, here is the introduction of components of an autoclave which mainly consists the main body, pressurization system, vacuum system, heating system, cooling system, feeding system, control system, blowing system, and instrument valves. Autoclave refers to the process of laying layers of prepreg in a designed direction and completing the curing process at a certain temperature and pressure inside the autoclave . The prepreg is laid on the surface of the mold attached to the release agent (or release cloth), covered with breather, peeling ply and sealed in a vacuum bag. The bag is then vacuumed and
cured according to the curing characteristics of different resins.
Products in the autoclave is pressurized in the vacuum bag under uniform pressure, allowing even curing. Air is heated up inside the autoclave with a small temperature difference at each point.
At the same time, a cooling system is configured to strictly control the temperature within the process range. Overall, autoclave has uniform molding pressure and temperature, which can be adjusted and controlled, making the quality of the formed product stable and reliable. However, autoclave production method is more advanced and hence costs more and consumes large amount of energy, not to mention the auxiliary materials such as vacuum bags and sealing tape.
