When I think about composites, I am always drawn to the molding process. It is that magical moment when stringy gooey glop turns into a stiff strong shiny part! To give composites their shape, numerous methods have been invented to form, constrain, support and enclose a composite matrix during curing or cooling – this is “tooling” and it’s one of the most important parts of the composite manufacturing process.
Topics:
- Introduction to Types of Tooling
- Machinable Tooling Boards
- How to Use MDF for Composites Tooling
- Building Big with Tooling Paste
- Building Open-Molded Production Tooling
- Adhesive Teflon – It’s Awesome
- Aluminum Molds
- “Stick Building” Molds and Plugs
- Making Mold Release Choices
- Tooling for Closed Molding
Tooling choices are hard because you want to be a cheap as possible, but you know if you cut too many corners, it just won’t work! The consequences of tooling decisions will haunt you for years – and potentially for thousands of parts. Anticipating problem areas and making molding processes that are smooth and easy can pay off massively over the longer run.