Lecture 08
Composites Manufacturing
Processes
Dr. J. Ramkumar
Professor
Dept of Mechanical & Design Program
IIT Kanpur, India.
Contents
Composite Manufacturing Processes
Hand Lay up process
Process set up
Gel coat
Advantages and Limitations
Spray lay up process
Processing Techniques
Primarily classified as
Structural applications – continuous aligned fibers
Semi structural applications – continuous non aligned
fibers
Non structural applications – discontinuous fibers
Arrangement of fibers
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Comparison of fiber
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Major FRP fabrication processes
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Composite Manufacturing Processes
Processes for Thermoseting matrix composites:
Hand layup and spray up techniques.
Filament winding
Pultrusion
Resin transfer moulding
Autoclave moulding.
Composite Manufacturing Processes
Processes for Thermoplastic matrix composites:
Injection moulding
Film stacking
Diaphragm forming.
Thermoplastic tape laying
Composite Manufacturing Processes
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Performance comparison
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Hand lay-up
This is an open mold method of shaping to form a structure.
Since the layers laid are in direct contact with atmosphere, it
is called an open mold process.
It involves manual laying of fibers with resins on a mold by
hands or hand tools.
Any type of fiber especially glass fiber is used.
Thermoset resins in liquid form at room temperature e.g.
epoxy, polyester etc.
The mold has shape of product and the product has the
better surface finish over the side that is in contact with the
mold.
Hand lay-up
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Hand lay-up
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Hand lay-up
• Hand lay-up is mainly used for making FRP products in a mold.
• The mold has the shape of the product.
• The product will have smooth finish only on the side that is in
contact with the mold.
• Only the male or the female half of the mold is generally used in
hand lay-up process.
• The choice of male or female mold depends on which side of the
product needs good finish.
• If the inside surface needs smooth finish, then the product is made
over a male mold or vice versa.
• It is possible to make a product with glossy, mat, or textured finish
on the surface by using a mold with the respective finish.
• The mold must be free from surface defects, because the imprint of
such defects will form on the product.
Hand lay-up
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Hand lay-up
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Process set-up
The first layer on mold is gel coating. It gives high surface quality.
A release film is used to avoid the molded part from sticking to the
mold.
A woven fiber layer laid with decided orientation.
A layer of liquid resin is spread on the fibers laid earlier.
The resin is mixed with some catalyst for introducing hardness to
the composite product.
A brush is used to evenly spread the resin liquid.
Process set-up
The roller is used after laying each layer to remove the air
entrapped in the resin.
This process is repeated until the required thickness is
acquired.
The resin used requires curing for the hardening of its liquid form
into hardened product.
Curing at room temperature may take days to complete and is
used for big sized products e.g. boat hulls.
Gel Coat
• Gel coat is a thin layer of resin (∼0.5 mm thickness) applied over the
release film.
• Gel coat gives superior finish to the product.
• The required color of the product can be obtained by adding suitable
pigment to the resin.
• The gel coat serves the following purposes:
• It provides color, glossiness, and/or texture to the products.
• It conceals the fiber pattern.
• It also provides a resin-rich layer that protects the fiber from
getting in contact with water and chemicals.
Advantages
• The large-scale use of hand lay-up process is attributed to the
simplicity of the process.
• No expensive equipment is required, and only simple inexpensive
• tools like brushes and rollers are needed.
• Practically there is no restriction on the size of the product.
• It is possible to mold all shapes and incorporate inserts of any shape.
Depending on the end user’s taste, colors and decorative finishes can
be incorporated in the product.
• This is the most suitable method for lining of tanks, ducts, and boats
and repairing of concrete structures.
Limitations
• The process is labor intensive, and the quality of the product depends
largely on the skill of the person doing the fabrication.
• This process is not suitable if good surface finish is required on both
the sides of the product.
• This process cannot compete with compression molding for the mass
production of small items.
• Thickness control is not accurate and it is difficult to obtain uniform
fiber-to-resin ratio.
Spray lay up Process
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Spray-Up Process
• Spray-up is another low-to-medium volume, open mold process
suitable for producing medium-to-large-sized parts.
• Greater shape complexity is possible with spray-up than with hand
lay-up.
• In the spray-up process, chopped fibers and resin are simultaneously
deposited on an open mold.
• Usually glass fiber rovings are used in this process.
• The glass fiber rovings are fed through a chopper and propelled into
the resin stream, which is directed to the mold.
• The spray gun consists of two nozzles: one nozzle sprays resin
premixed with catalyst or catalyst alone, while another nozzle sprays
resin premixed with accelerator.
• The resin mix pre-coats the strands of glass fiber, and the coated
fibers with the resin is sprayed on the mold in an even pattern by the
operator.
Spray-Up Process
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Features of Hand/spray process
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Assignment
Have a look at 15 different parts of your choice. Try to identify
the functional and non functional surfaces and then decide
whether to use a open/close mould process
