Troubleshooter
Nine factors to consider when designing composites cure tooling
Gary Bond discusses the common pitfalls and compromises when designing good cure tooling and their holistic significance for a robust composite production process.
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Proper application of semi-permanent mold release systems
Performing regular maintenance of the layup tool for successful sealing and release is required to reduce the risk of part adherence.
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The importance of resin mixing procedures in the composites shop
What is considered to be common knowledge when storing, handling, weighing, mixing and deploying epoxy resins and adhesives has brought to light the need for tighter control, improved practices.
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Why does my composite mold leak under vacuum or applied pressure?
Louis Dorworth of Abaris Training Resources outlines key considerations to make when fabricating quality composite molds to minimize risk of leakage under pressure or vacuum.
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Doing the twist: A look at dimensional issues in high-temperature cured laminates
When it’s not the tooling, the root cause of dimensionally inaccurate composite parts often boils down to two things: fiber form(s) used and laminate symmetry.
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Fostering best practices for wet layup procedures
As fabricators continue to manufacture composite tools and parts using an open mold, wet layup process — often with mixed success — it’s important to stress proper preparation, materials, application methods and standardization.
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Troubleshooting thermal design of composite battery enclosures
Materials, electrical insulation and certification are all important factors to consider when optimizing electric battery performance against potential thermal runaway.
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Alternate heat sources for hot-bonded composite repairs
Successfully using an alternate heat source for repairing composite structures requires an awareness of thermal dynamics and effective heat transfer management.
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A second look at cobonded tapered scarf repairs for composite structures
Composites repairs, such as cobonded tapered scarf repairs, seek to sufficiently restore structural loads so that components perform without failure
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Avoiding the pitfalls of vacuum infusion processing
Understand the fundamentals of vacuum infusion processing (VIP), including pressure, permeability and race tracking, to prevent issues and produce consistent results.
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