processingdetails

Lay-Up Mold Making

Lay-Up Molding also can be called as the hand lay-up, which is the simplest kind of molding method in the composite fabrication processes, but it is also the oldest molding process using in the molding application. It is featured as low volume, labor intensive method applying to large components, mostly applying in boat hulls. Glass or other reinforcing mat or woven fabric or roving is positioned manually in the open mold, and resin is poured, brushed, or sprayed over and into the glass plies. Entrapped air is removed manually with squeegees or rollers to complete the laminates structure. Room temperature curingpolyesters and epoxies are the most commonly used matrix resins.

Curing is started by a catalyst in the resin system, which hardens the fiber reinforced resincomposite without external heat. In this process, there is little or no pressure using in the curing process, the process is sometimes called contact pressure molding. In order to get a high quality part surface, sometimes a pigmented gel coat is used to the mold surface in the first step.