Course Overview:
The Advanced Composite Manufacturing Course gives the opportunity to create high-performance composite parts with emphasis on carbon fibers through the practical work.
Some important aspects such as out-of-autoclave prepreg carbon fiber layup techniques, epoxy resin infusion with advanced reinforcements and carbon cloth, and composite pattern and mould fabrication are covered.
There are courses for different participants including those with no experience and those who have basic hands-on experience.
In the end, students are able to produce high-performance composite parts such as painting carbon fiber tuning shapes and big volume pieces, e.g., boat’s hulls. This is also a deep introduction to modern composite materials advanced manufacturing techniques.
Course Objectives:
There will still be learning to do and experience to gain, by the end of the course all delegates will have been taught, and undertaken themselves, many of the basic principles of advanced manufacturing and would be in a very strong position to begin effectively manufacturing their own components, be they small carbon fiber tuning parts or a large boat-hull.
Who Should Attend?
This introductory course is suitable for most abilities, including those with little or no practical experience of composites however a basic understanding or some practical experience will be an advantage. The course is aimed at any anyone who would like to understand how modern, high-performance composite parts are manufactured and learn the skills and techniques to be able to design, manufacture, or repair such parts themselves.
Course Outlines:
Out-of-Autoclave Prepare Carbon Fibre
Prepare carbon fibre components are widely regarded as the pinnacle of advanced composites; their incredible performance and stunning appearance making them the most sought-after performance parts on the market. Module one of the course covers layup techniques on a range of moulds (including split moulds) using different laminate weights of prepreg carbon fibre including specialist surface layers for a pin-hole free ‘class A’ surface finish. This practical hands-on session will cover the equipment, techniques and materials necessary to produce world-class composite parts at the demanding standards now expected from professional carbon fibre parts.
- Introduction to “prepreg” composite reinforcements
- Moulds and release agents for prepreg composites (theory and demonstration)
- Laminating prepreg carbon fibre reinforcement (instruction and practical)
- Prepreg consumables and set-up (instruction and practical)
- Vacuum bagging for prepregs (instruction and practical)
- Oven curing (practical)
- Open forum and individual project advice
Resin Infusion for High-Performance Carbon Fibre
Vacuum-assisted resin infusion is widely recognised as one of the most significant developments to take place in composites manufacturing for the last 25 years. Module two of the course focuses on the high-performance side of resin infusion using epoxy resin and high-end reinforcements such as carbon fibre, aramid and infusion-grade core materials. The practical hands-on session will cover the equipment, techniques and materials necessary to produce world-class composite parts at the demanding standards now expected from professional carbon fibre parts.
- Introduction to resin infusion (theory)
- Moulds for resin infusion and infusion planning (theory and demonstration))
- Reinforcement positioning (advice and practical)
- Resin infusion consumables and set-up (advice and practical)
- Vacuum bagging technique (practical)
- Resin infusion (practical)
Composite Pattern & Mould Making
This module introduces the basic concepts of pattern and mould making and then expands on the specific principles and requirements for producing moulds suitable for resin infusion and out-of-autoclave part manufacturing. This module dedicated to practical ‘hands-on’ experience of pattern making. You will learn how to choose the right materials for your patterns and moulds, make dimensionally accurate patterns from 2D profiles and work with polyurethane foam to create original forms. Patterns will then be coated, flatted and finally polished to a professional standard using hand and power sanding and polishing tools. This covers mould making including material selection and considerations leading into more hands-on experience including adding temporary barriers to make mould flanges, how to make split-moulds and finally full layup of a composite mould using modern tooling materials.
- Introduction to pattern and mould making techniques
- 2D profiling and polyurethane foam pattern making (instruction and practical))
- Pattern coating (instruction and practical)
- Hand and machine flatting and polishing (instruction and practical)
- Adding barriers to parts/patterns (instruction and practical)
- Making split-moulds (instruction and practical)
- Mould laminating using modern mould-making materials (instruction and practical)
- Mould preparation and repair