Processing of Polymers and Composites

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Processing of Polymers and Composites

Dr S. Gowthaman
Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing Kancheepuram
Chennai - 600127
Roll Wrapping Process
• Roll wrapping is similar to prepreg lay-up with the exception that the tool is always a cylindrical or round
tapered mandrel.
• In this process, the prepreg is rolled over a removable mandrel and then shrink tape is wrapped for
consolidation.
• The entire assembly is then batch cured for solidification.

Applications - golf shafts, fishing rods, bicycle frames, and other tubular shapes.

Raw Materials Prepregs of – Carbon, Glass, Kevlar fibers along with epoxy, polyester, and vinylester
resins.

Tooling The roll wrapping process utilizes low-cost tooling systems. Steel mandrels in large
quantities are used in this process.
Roll Wrapping Process Prepreg cutting
1. The prepreg is removed from the refrigerator and placed at room temperature
for thawing.
2. Thawed prepregs are rolled out on a cutting table.
3. Prepregs are then cut into rectangular or trapezoidal shapes using a template or
an automated cutting machine.
4. Wax or release agent is applied to the mandrel.
5. The cut prepregs are brought to the rolling table and then stacked according to
design requirements.
6. The mandrel is brought to the rolling table and placed on top of the stacked
prepregs.
7. The mandrel is pressed against the table and then rolled. Because of the
tackiness of the prepreg, it adheres to the mandrel and incoming prepreg layers.
The rolling operation is performed either manually or using a rolling press.
Prepreg rolling
8. The rolled prepreg is then taken to the tape wrapping machine for applying the
shrink tape.
9. The shafts thus produced are placed on a rack.
10. The rack is then moved to an air-circulating oven for curing.
11. Curing is done Mandrels in oven
12. Shrink tape is then removed and tubes are sanded for removing tape marks /
excess resin, then inspected & painted
Roll Wrapping Process

Advantages of the Roll Wrapping Process

• In the composites industry, the roll wrapping process competes with filament winding and pultrusion processes in tube
manufacturing applications.
• The initial capital investment in terms of equipment and tooling costs is very small.
• The process provides a high fiber volume fraction compared to the filament winding and pultrusion processes.
• The desired fiber orientation can easily be obtained in this process compared to the filament winding and pultrusion
processes.
• The cost of prototyping is very low in the roll wrapping process.

Disadvantages of the Roll Wrapping Process

1. Complex parts cannot be manufactured by roll wrapping because it is limited to the production of tubular structures
only.
2. Thick composite parts are not easily produced because there are limitations on applying pressure on the rolled part.
Compression Molding Process
Sheet molding compounds (SMCs) are the more common
raw materials for compression molding.

Applications

• Compression molding of SMC is used for making


panels for automotive applications - Roof panels,
quarter panels, fenders, doors, hoods, and
decklids etc.
• Box components, oil pans, showers/tubs, fuses,
lamp housings, switches, etc

Basic Raw Materials

SMC, BMC, and TMC are used as initial raw materials for
compression molding operations.
Compression Molding Process
1. The total volume or weight of the final part is calculated and, based on that, the
amount of charge material is determined.
2. The charge material is brought from the storage area and cut to a specific size
3. The carrier film from charge material is removed.
4. The mold is preheated as required by the resin formulation.
5. The charge material is placed on the preheated lower mold half at locations
determined by the manufacturing engineer.
6. The charge locations are judiciously selected to get uniform flow across the surface as
well as to achieve better mechanical performance
7. The upper half of the mold is closed rapidly which causes the charge to flow rapidly
inside the cavity.
8. After curing, the upper mold half is moved back and thus releases the pressure from
the mold.
9. The part is demolded using ejector pins.
Compression Molding of Thermoset Composites
Advantages
• It offers production of low-cost components at high volume because it utilizes
SMC, which is fairly inexpensive.
• The process offers high surface quality and good styling possibilities.
• Multiple parts can be consolidated into one single molded part

Disadvantages
• The initial investment for the process is high because of high equipment and mold
costs.
• The process is not suitable for making a small number of parts or for prototyping
applications.
• Compression molding of SMC provides nonstructural parts; but by utilizing ribs and
stiffeners, structural parts can be manufactured.
Roll Wrapping Process

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p36c9dzGjQ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKfLvRdCYfQ

Compression Molding Process


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Nm0jzpu7o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrSC7mdnAFQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s52rN3QZDIc
Injection Molding of Thermoset Composites
• In injection molding, a fixed amount of material (BMC) is injected into the heated mold cavities.
• After the completion of cross-linking, the mold opens and the part is dropped into a receiving bin.
• Very short cycle process time – has high production rate

Applications
High volume applications - sink disposals, sewing machine parts, small power tools, small appliance
motors, electrical plug fuses, and more.
Injection Molding of Thermoset Composites

• Thermoset injection molding - mold temperature is higher than the barrel


Raw material – Bulk temperature, as opposed to thermoplastic injection molding where the
Molding Compound mold temperature is lower than the barrel temperature.
(BMC) • In thermoplastics, the material becomes rigid after it cools down from its
melt temperature, whereas in thermosets the material becomes rigid after
it starts curing.
Thermoplastic Tape Winding
Thermoplastic prepreg tapes made
of carbon, glass, and aramid as
reinforcing fibers and various resins
such as polyetheretherketone
(PEEK), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS),
polyamide (nylon 6), polyetherimide
(PEI), polypropylene (PP), and
polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)
are used for making tape-wound
structures.

Commingled fibers are also used to


demonstrate the feasibility of the
thermoplastic tape winding process.
In commingled fibers, reinforcement
Important parameters - heat intensity, winding fibers are mixed with matrix fibers.
speed, and consolidation force
Thermoplastic Tape Winding
Applications
• Mainly for making prototype parts, the process has not been widely used for
commercial applications.
• Tape winding can be used for making tubular structures such as bicycle frames and
satellite launch tubes.
Thermoplastic Tape Winding
Advantages
• Tape winding is a cleaner production method compared to thermoset filament winding.
• Thick and large composite structures can be formed without interrupting the process. It may not be
convenient to wind them all at one time with thermoset filament winding because of exothermic
reaction and residual stress generation.
• There is no styrene emission concern during the manufacturing process.
• No secondary processing (e.g., oven curing) is necessary because the incoming tape consolidates
where it meets the preconsolidated laminate.
Limitations
• The process is complicated because it requires a localized heat source and a consolidation roller.
• Getting a good consolidated part is a major challenge during the tape winding process.
• The quality of products obtained by tape winding is inferior to that obtained by wet filament
winding.
• The raw materials cost for tape winding is very high compared to wet filament winding.
Thermoplastic Pultrusion Process
• Commingled fibers or thermoplastic prepregs
are pulled through a die to get the final
product.
• Because of the high viscosity of thermoplastic
resins, processing becomes difficult and
requires a higher pulling force.
• This process provides a surface quality inferior
to that provided by thermoset pultrusion.
• Thermoplastic pultrusion has gained little
attention from industry and academia.

Pultruded thermoplastic composites


components. (Courtesy of the Dow Chemical
Company.)
Thermoplastic Pultrusion Process
Raw materials - Glass and carbon fibers / nylons, polypropylene, polyurethane, PEEK, PPS, and
PEI / Commingled fibers and thermoplastic prepregs

Tooling – Similar to thermoset die – but requirements are for high processing temperature and
shorter die (because of shorter processing time) – Compaction of the part occurs in the die (hot
section of the die) and part solidifies as it passes through the cooled portion of the die
Advantages
• The process is environment friendly and does not have any styrene emission concerns ( as in
thermosets)
• The part can be easily recycled.
Limitations • Requires high heat and pressure for consolidation
• Quality of surface finish is inferior
• Complex shapes are difficult to produce (due to high viscosity of resin)
• Cost of initial raw materials are high
Injection Molding of Thermoset Composite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGeA5pncPng
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9eIVTVpaLc

Thermoplastic Composite – Tape Winding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fSgRN0JDys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXH2k0wB3Zs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jti0EiQkyfg

Thermoplastic Composite – Pultrusion


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb_4AKvw0gw
Compression Molding of Glass Mat Thermoplastic
• Compression molding of GMT (glass mat thermoplastic) is very similar to compression
molding of SMC, with the only major difference being the type of raw material used in
the process.
• Widely used for making commercial thermoplastic structural parts.
• The process is two to three times faster than compression molding of SMC

Applications bumper beams, dashboards, and other automotive structural parts.


Compression Molding of Glass Mat Thermoplastic
Heated composite sheet is squeezed
between the mold halves to force resin
and glass fibers to fill the cavity.

Unlike SMC molding, GMT is heated in a


conveyor equipped oven above the melt
temperature of the resin before it is laid
on the mold cavity

In this process, the mold is not heated but


cooled.

A well-designed blank pattern is


necessary for producing parts with
uniform glass distribution and optimum
properties.
Compression Molding of Glass Mat Thermoplastic
Raw materials - Continuous / discontinuous randomly oriented glass fibers impregnated with
polypropylene are used as mats (called blanks)

Tooling – Made of tool steel ; The mold is cooled

Advantages
• This is one of the fastest techniques for making composite structural parts.
• Because of higher productivity of the process, fewer tools and less labor are required.

Limitations

• A high capital investment is required for the process.


• The process is limited to high production volume environments.
• The typical fiber volume fraction for this process is 20 to 30% because of the high viscosity
of the resin.
Hot Press Technique
• Similar to compression molding of GMT. Unlike GMT, the prepregs in this case are made with unidirectional
continuous fibers.

Raw Materials
Mostly Carbon fiber with PEEK (APC-2) and carbon with PPS are
mostly used for this application. Glass & Kevlar fibers can also
be used.

This process is very suitable for performing research


and development work and for making flat test
coupons.
Autoclave Processing – Thermoplastic Composite
Advantages:
• The raw materials used in this process are • It provides fabrication of structural composite
thermoplastic prepregs made with unidirectional fibers. components with a high fiber volume fraction.

• Carbon fiber with PEEK (APC-2) and carbon with PPS • It is simple. It is basically a replicate of autoclave
are mostly used for this application. Glass and Kevlar processing of thermoset composites. The same
fibers are also used with polymers such as PP, nylon, autoclave equipment as in thermoset processing is
and other types of plastics. used for thermoplastic autoclave processing.
Equipment for thermoplastic filament winding and
pultrusion is different than for its thermoset
counterpart.
• Similar to autoclave processing of thermoset
composites Disadvantages:

• Thermoplastic prepregs are not tacky and hence • Due to lack of tack and drapability, prepreg lay-
spot welding may be required to keep them in up during autoclave processing of
place thermoplastic composites is labor intensive as
compared to its thermoset counterpart.
• Difficult to make complex shapes
• Higher temperatures and pressures are
• Heat and pressure are applied in the same required due to the high melt temperature and
manner as in thermoset autoclave processing higher viscosity of thermoplastics.
Diaphragm Forming Process

Maintaining uniform fiber distribution during the manufacture


of complex shapes is a challenge. In the diaphragm forming
• It offers excellent structural properties because continuous process, composite layers float between diaphragms and are
fibers are used in making the part. free to have all the allowable modes of deformation. This
• Reasonably complex shapes with uniform thickness can be freedom necessarily results in significant reorientation of the
produced with reasonably high production efficiencies. reinforcing fibers.
Diaphragm Forming Process
• Carbon/PEEK (APC-2), carbon/PPS, carbon/nylon, and glass/nylon prepregs are commonly used for making
composite sheets.

• The diaphragm materials are usually superplastic aluminum alloys, polyimide films, or sheet rubber. The
diaphragm controls the forming process. The stiffness of the diaphragm is a critical factor in getting a good
quality part. For simple shapes, compliant diaphragms are preferred; whereas for complex shapes, stiffer
diaphragms are selected.
• In diaphragm forming, the composite sheet is
heated close to the melt temperature, whereas
in thermoforming, the plastic sheet is heated
above the Tg of plastics.

• In diaphragm forming, the thermoplastic


composite sheet cannot be clamped around
the perimeter as in thermoforming. The fibers
in individual plies do not allow for stretching
without breaking the fibers. In diaphragm
forming, the composite sheet is placed
between two highly flexible diaphragms, which
are clamped around the perimeter.

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