Brief Introduction to the Molding Process of Thermoplastic Carbon Fiber Composite Material

Brief Introduction to the Molding Process of Thermoplastic Carbon Fiber Composite Material

The molding process of thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials is developed from the integration of thermosetting resin composite materials and metal molding technology. According to the difference of equipment, it can be divided into compression molding, double film molding, autoclave molding, vacuum bag molding, filament winding molding, calender molding and so on. In this article, Boshi will give you a brief introduction to several of the more commonly used molding methods, so that you can better understand them.

1. Double film forming

Double film molding is also called resin film permeation molding. This method is suitable for the molding of more complex parts. Put the cut prepreg between two layers of flexible resin film and metal film. The periphery of the film is sealed with metal or other materials. During the molding process, the prepreg is heated to the molding temperature and a certain amount of Under the molding pressure, the part is deformed according to the shape of the metal mold, and then cooled and shaped.

In double film forming, the parts and film are generally packaged and vacuumed. Because the membrane is deformable, it has greater tolerance for resin flow; on the other hand, because the membrane deformed under vacuum can apply uniform pressure to the workpiece, it can effectively improve the molding quality of the carbon fiber composite material.

2. Pultrusion

Pultrusion is a process for continuously manufacturing composite material profiles with constant cross-sections. It is to consolidate prepreg tape (yarn) in a set of pultrusion molds, prepreg or pultrude while prepreg, or It is another impregnation. Garbage molding can be used for the production of solid, hollow, and various complex cross-section products. Because of its strong designability, it can provide designers with more room for development.

3. Compression molding

Compression molding refers to a method in which the cut carbon fiber prepreg is laid at a certain angle and number of layers, and then placed in a mold, and the mold is put into a hot press for heating, curing, and forming. The molding cycle is generally completed within a few tens of seconds to a few minutes. The compression molding method has low energy consumption, low cost, and high productivity, and is more common in the molding process of thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials.

4. Winding forming

The winding molding process of the thermoplastic carbon fiber composite material needs to heat the carbon fiber prepreg to the softening point during winding, and then heat and solidify it at the contact point of the core mold. The heating methods that can be used include conduction heating, dielectric heating, electromagnetic heating, electromagnetic radiation heating and so on.