MFG processes for thermoset

composites

Hand lay-up process

prepreg lay-up

Wet
lay-up

Prepreg lay-up process :

It is an open molding process with Limitations :

low-volume capability . in this
process , prepregs are cut , laid 1) It is very labor intensive and is
down in the desired fiber not suitable for high volume
orientation on a tool , and then production applications .
2) The parts produced by the
vacuum bagged . after vacuum
prepreg lay-up process are
bagging , the composite with the
expensive .
mold is put inside an oven and
then heat and pressure are
applied for curing and
Basic processing steps :
consolidation of the part .
1. the prepreg is removed from
Applications :
the refrigerator and is kept at
The process is widely used in room temp for thawing .
aerospace industry and for
2. the prepreg is laid on the
making prototype parts . wing
cutting table and cut to desired
structure , yacht parts and
size and orientation .
sporting goods .
3. the mold is cleaned and release
Advantages :
agent is applied to the mold
1) It allows production of high surface .
fiber volume fraction
4. backing paper from the
composite parts because of
prepreg is removed and the
the use of prepregs .
2) Simple to complex parts can prepreg is laid in mold surface .
be easily manufactured . 5. entrapped air between sheets
3) Is very suitable for making is removed by a squeeze roller .
prototypes parts
4) Low tooling cost 6. vacuum bagging arrangements
5) Very strong and stiff parts can are made .
be manufactured by this
process .
7. the assembly is placed in an vessels , pipes and rocket motor
oven . casings .

8. connections to thermocouples Advantages :

are made and the oven door is
1- for certain applications such as
closed .
pressure vessels and fuel tanks ,
9. the cure cycle data are entered filament winding is the only
into a computer . method that can be used to make
cost-effective and high-
10. after cooling , the vacuum
performance composite parts .
bag is removed and the part is
taken out . 2- filament winding uses low-cost
raw material and low-cost

tooling .
Filament winding process
3- filament winding can be
Is a process in which resin- automated for high production
impregnated fibers are wound volume .
over a rotating mandrel at the
Limitations :
desired angle .
1- it is limited to producing closed
and convex structures . it is not
suitable for making open
structures such as bathtubs .

2- not all fiber angles are easily

produced during the process .

3- the maximum fiber volume

fraction attainable during this
The carriage unit moves back and process is only 60% .
forth and the mandrel rotates at a
specified speed.by controlling the 4- during filament winding
motion of the carriage and the process , it is difficult to obtain
mandrel , the desired fiber uniform fiber distribution .
orientation is generated . the
process is very suitable for
making tubular parts . Pultrusion process

Applications :

The most common products are

tubular structures , pressure
Is a low-cost , high volume
manufacturing process in which
resin impregnated fibers are
pulled through a die to make the
part .
The process is similar to metal
extrusion process , with the
difference being that instead of
material being pushed the die in
extrusion , it is pulled through the
die in plutrusion .
Plutrusion creates parts of
constant cross section and
continuous length.
2- it utilizes low-cost fiber and
resin systems and thus provides
production of low cost parts
Limitations :
1- it is suitable for parts that have
constant cross-sections along
their length . tapered and
complex shapes cannot be
produced .
2- very high tolerance parts on
the inside and outside dimensions
cannot be produced .
3- thin wall parts cannot be
produced .

4- Fiber angles on pultruded parts

are limited to 0 .

5- structures requiring complex

loading cannot be produced by
this process .
When material passes through
the heated die , it becomes
partially or completely cured . Sheet molding compound
Applications : (SMC)

Pultrusion is used to fabricate

wide range of solid and hollow
structures . it is also used to
make beams , channels , tubes ,
walkways and bridges , light poles
,etc .

Advantages : In this process , a resin paste is

1- it is a continuous process and
can be completely automated to
get the finished part . it is suitable
to make high-volume composite
parts .
placed on a moving film through a
metering device .
before placing , all ingredients of
the resin paste are mixed .
Continuous strands of glass fibers
are chopped and dispersed over
the moving resin paste .
Another layer of resin paste is
placed over dispersed fibers for
good fiber impregnation .
Another moving film is placed on
top of above compound . these
top and bottom films remain until
it is placed in a compression mold
. around all fibers.
The complete sheet then passes
through a heated compaction
roller and then is rolled up or cut
into rectangular shapes .
Three types of SMC :
1- SMC-R : for randomly oriented
short fiber .
2- SMC-CR : contains continuous
fiber (c )in addition to random
(R).
3- XMC : represents a mixture of
random short fiber with
continuous fiber in x direction .
Advantages :
1- Low cost technology
2- high volume production
3- short cycle time
Basic steps in a composite
manufacturing process :
there are four basic steps
involved in composite part
fabrication as follow :
1- impregnation
In this step , fibers and resins are
mixed together to form a lamina .
The purpose of this step is to
make sure that the resin flows
Viscosity , surface tension and
capillary action are the main
factors affecting the impregnation
process .
2- lay-up
In this step , composite laminates
are formed by placing fiber resin
mixtures or prepregs at desired
angles and at places where they
are needed .the desired thickness
is built-up by placing various
layers of fiber and resin mixture .
The purpose of this step is to
achieve the desired fiber
architecture .
3- consolidation
This step involves creating
intimate contact between each
layer of lamina .
This step ensure that all
entrapped air is removed .
Consolidation is a very important
step in obtaining a good quality
part .
4- Solidification

Vacuum or pressure is maintained

during this period .

The rate of solidification depends

on the cooling rate of the
process .

Compression molding process

This process is used for molding

Applications
large auto-motives panels .
SMC is used for making one and
Sheet molding compounds (SMCs)
two-piece panels for automotive
and bulk molding compounds
applications .
(BMCs) are the more common raw
materials for compression Skid plates , military drop-boxes ,
molding . home applications such as
showers / tubs .
In compression molding of SMC ,
the final component is produced Advantages
in one molding operation , the
steel sheet metal goes through a 1- high volume production and is
series of stamping processes to very suitable for automotive
get the final shape . applications .

2- it offers production of low cost

components .

3- the process offers high surface

quality .

4- multiple parts can be

consolidated in one single molded
part .

Limitations

1- the initial investment of

process is high
2- the process is not suitable for
making a small number of parts .

3- SMC provides nonstructural

parts