The BAC Manufacturing Process

 

B.A.C. Technologies has manufactured countless plugs and molds for a variety of different industries. Our experience in creating molds ranges from small and Intricate molds to large scale, complex parts such as Collins Class Submarines (Nose Cones).

 

Utilising the capabilities of both of our 3 axis CNC machines as well as the experience and expertise of our qualified fibre-composite technicians, B.A.C. can offer accurate and high quality plugs and molds to every customers set requirements or wishes.

 

Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion Process:

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Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding or Vacuum Injected Molding is a closed mold, out of autoclave composite manufacturing process.

 

VARTM is a variation of Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) with its distinguishing characteristic being the replacement of the top portion of a mold tool with a vacuum bag and the use of a vacuum to assist in resin flow. The process involves the use of a vacuum to facilitate resin flow into a fiber layup contained within a mold tool covered by a vacuum bag. After the impregnation occurs the composite part is allowed to cure at room temperature with an optional post cure sometimes carried out.

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Vacuum Bagging:

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Vacuum bag molding uses a flexible film to enclose the part and seal it from outside air. Vacuum bag material is available in a tube shape or a sheet of material. A vacuum is then drawn on the vacuum bag and atmospheric pressure compresses the part during the cure.

 

When a tube shaped bag is used, the entire part can be enclosed within the bag. When using sheet bagging materials, the edges of the vacuum bag are sealed against the edges of the mold surface to enclose the part against an air-tight mold.

 

When bagged in this way, the lower mold is a rigid structure and the upper surface of the part is formed by the flexible membrane vacuum bag. The flexible membrane can be a reusable silicone material or an extruded polymer film. After sealing the part inside the vacuum bag, a vacuum is drawn on the part (and held) during cure. This process can be performed at either ambient or elevated temperature with ambient atmospheric pressure acting upon the vacuum bag.

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A vacuum bag is a bag made of strong rubber-coated fabric or a polymer film used to compress the part during cure or hardening. In some applications the bag encloses the entire material, or in other applications a mold is used to form one face of the laminate with the bag being a single layer to seal to the outer edge of the mold face. When using a tube shaped bag, the ends of the bag are sealed and the air is drawn out of the bag through a nipple using a vacuum pump. As a result, uniform pressure approaching one atmosphere is applied to the surfaces of the object inside the bag, holding parts together while the adhesive cures. The entire bag may be placed in a temperature-controlled oven, oil bath or water bath and gently heated to accelerate curing.

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Carbon fiber fabric and fiberglass, along with resins and epoxies are common materials laminated together with a vacuum bag operation.

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Sandwich Panel Construction:

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A sandwich-structured composite is a special class of composite materials that is fabricated by attaching two thin but stiff skins to a lightweight but thick core. The core material is normally low strength material, but its higher thickness provides the sandwich composite with high bending stiffness with overall low density.

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Open- and closed-cell-structured foams like polyethersufone polyvinylchloride, polyurethane, polyethylene or polystyrene foams, balsa wood, syntactic foams, and honeycombs are commonly used core materials.

 

Sometimes, the honeycomb structure is filled with other foams for added strength. Open- and closed-cell metal foam can also be used as core materials.

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Laminates of glass or carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics or mainly thermoset polymers (unsaturated polyesters, epoxies...) are widely used as skin materials. Sheet metal is also used as skin material in some cases.

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The core is bonded to the skins with an adhesive or with metal components by brazing together.

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Plug & Mould:

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The fiberglass mold process begins with an object known as the plug or buck. This is an exact representation of the object to be made. The plug can be made from a variety of different materials, certain types of foam are commonly used.

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After the plug has been formed, it is sprayed with a mold release agent. The release agent will allow the mold to be separated from the plug once it is finished. The mold release agent is a special wax, and/or PVA (Polyvinyl alcohol). Polyvinyl Alcohol, however, is said to have negative effects on the final mold's surface finish.

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Once the plug has its release agent applied, gelcoat is applied with a roller, brush or specially-designed spray gun. The gelcoat is pigmented resin, and gives the mold surface a harder, more durable finish.

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Once the release agent and gelcoat are applied, layers of fiberglass and resin are laid-up onto the surface. The fiberglass used will typically be identical to that which will be used in the final product.

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In the laying-up process, a layer of fiberglass mat is applied, and resin is applied over it. A special roller is then used to remove air bubbles. Air bubbles, if left in the curing resin, would significantly reduce the strength of the finished mold. The fiberglass spray lay-up process is also used to produce molds, and can provide good filling of corners and cavities where a glass mat or weave may prove to be too stiff.

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Once the final layers of fiberglass are applied to the mold, the resin is allowed to set up and cure. Wedges are then driven between the plug and the mold in order to separate the two.

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Spray-Up & Hand Layup:

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Spray-Up also known as chop method of creating fiberglass objects by spraying short strands of glass out of a pneumatic gun. This method is used often when one side of the finished product is not seen, or when large quantities of a product must be made cheaply and quickly.

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Spray-up is an open-molding composites fabrication process where resin and reinforcements are sprayed onto a reusable mold. The resin and glass may be applied separately or simultaneously "chopped" in a combined stream from a chopper gun. Workers roll out the spray-up to compact the laminate. Wood, foam, or other core material may then be added, and a secondary spray-up layer embeds the core between the laminates.

 

The part is then cured, cooled, and removed from the mold.

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*This content is not owned by BAC Technologies. All content extracted from various Wikipedia pages.

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