Stretchlon film-enhanced ridft process for composite manufacture

Abstract

The need for an improved and affordable process for the production of polymer composites led to the development of the Resin Infusion between Double Flexible Tooling (RIDFT) process. The RIDFT process involves a 2-dimensional, even and effortless resin flow that facilitate fast and economical production of composites while ensuring environmental and personnel safety. A major drawback however, to the wide adoption of this promising process is the high cost in terms of time for preparing the silicone mold for the next production cycle, and the high cost associated with frequent replacement of the flexible tooling material (silicone sheet). In order to mitigate these problems, the low-cost Stretchlon bagging was introduced into the RIDFT process. This paper reports on the study of the effect of the use of the Stretchlon bagging on the RIDFT process in regards to: the fabrication of parts with different complexity; the production cycle time; and the thermo-mechanical properties of the fabricated parts. Glass fiber reinforced polymer panels were fabricated and tested for this study.

Publication Title

International SAMPE Technical Conference

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