Purchasing an oven for prepregs curing

[drodrig]

Hi there,

We are manufacturing some carbon fiber boxes. They are around 300x100x100 mm3 with 0.3 mm wall thickness. Attached some pictures.

we are using an existing oven in our laboratory, but we are moving to some other space and need to buy a new one.

The prepreg is wrapped around some mandrels and pressed with a mould using screws.

Then we bake everything for some hours at 110ºC. There is a curing cycle in the material specifications, but since it is not easy to know the temperature of the prepreg (mould wall thickness ca. 20 mm), after some tries, we found out this works very well.

Since we are getting a new oven it would be nice to get a nice one for future applications. I don't have any experience in ovens (apart from making some pies at home...) and I would like to ask for your advice. It seems interesting the possibility of making vacuum inside (we haven't done it)

Here are some requirements we have collected. It would be nice if the list is completed with other things people with experience, specially with carbon fiber/composites) can contribute:

- It should be at least 50 cm long in one direction.
- It must support a weight of 50 kilograms (one part) and a total of 100 (50+50).
- Pressure must be controlled (both vacuum and overpressure).
- It must have inlets for gasses (e.g. Argon)
- It must reach 200/300ºC

We are located in Germany. I've been looking to Voetsch and Binder

Thank you very much

http://files.engineering.com/getfil...9559-4672-baff-9743dc6c0163&file=DSC_6717.JPG

http://files.engineering.com/getfil...1ea9-4d70-b9bd-a892bb097522&file=DSC_7707.JPG

http://files.engineering.com/getfil...4d69-4b1b-802a-54b018355482&file=DSC_6845.JPG

 

[MikeHalloran]

You would probably want a fan inside the oven to help keep the temperature distribution more or less uniform.

You want a couple of pipe or tube ports through the wall that you can use to, e.g. inflate internal bladders or evacuate a vacuum bag or supply infusion resin.

You want an electrical feedthrough or two, or at least a packing gland you can tighten around a few cables, in case you need to make measurements.

You want a window and an internal lamp so you can see what is going on.

You will very much want an oven controller that is relatively simple to program, can store multiple programs, can send a program over a wire or through a printer port so you can record it, that displays the temperature, the setpoint, the ramp rate (you will want ramping capability), and probably some other stuff I've forgotten.




Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[drodrig]

Thank you very much Mike,

We will take these requirements into account

cheers,