Manufacturing of composite parts and products is relatively time-consuming and majority of time is devoted to curing, thus composite parts need to remain in the mould for a long time.

So as to improve time consumption we have developed a proprietary THERMOLD technology involving fabrication of heated moulds (basically for LRTM technology), where the composite is cured at temperature higher than the ambient one.

Moulds are heated by carbon fibre heaters, whereas the entire system is equipped with electronic temperature control which maintains the set temperature all over the surface.

[Thermostat image]

Generally, LRTM technology uses highly reactive polyester resins with short curing time; however, despite such properties the composite material is not dimensionally stable even after 30-40 minutes of curing. The composite part may be released from the mould but it requires specific curing units to continue curing, usually through the next 12 hours.

 

to recap:

With THERMOLD technology the curing process is uniform and faster. The composite part can be released from the mould after ca. 20 minutes of curing while being dimensionally stable, with no stresses, and mechanical and strength properties far better than in case of cold curing. It does not require additional heating in a dedicated chamber as this process can be performed directly in the mould.