Zone: Compression, Pressure Molding
SMC Flexes Muscles in Other Markets
Often identified with automotive body applications, sheet molding compound shows growing promise in a variety of other temperature- and weather-resistant applications.
Most Recent Content in this Zone:
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Automated solution: New presses for SMC molding process
7/24/2009 Composites Technology -
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Automotive Composites: Taking Subjectivity out of Class A Surface Evaluation
8/3/2008 Composites Technology - Toward the goal of more consistent, repeatable and quantifiable Class A surface analysis, automakers and systems suppliers are developing and employing automated surface inspection tools.
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SMC Flexes Muscles in Other Markets
12/1/2007 Composites Technology - Often identified with automotive body applications, sheet molding compound shows growing promise in a variety of other temperature- and weather-resistant applications.
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Fabrication methods
11/1/2007 Composites Technology - There are numerous methods for fabricating composite components. Some methods have been borrowed (injection molding, for example), but many were developed to meet specific design or manufacturing challenges. Selection of a method for a particular part, therefore, will depend on the materials, the part design and end-use or application.
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Innovation Driving Automotive SMC
2/1/2007 Composites Technology - New materials, methods and machinery are restoring sheet molding compound's preferred material status for automotive and heavy truck body panels.
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Overview Of:
Compression, Pressure Molding
Compression molding is a high-volume process that employs expensive but very durable metal dies. It is an appropriate choice when production quantities exceed 10,000 parts. As many as 200,000 parts can be turned out on a set of forged steel dies, using sheet molding compound (SMC), a composite sheet material made by sandwiching chopped fiberglass between two layers of thick resin paste. To form the sheet, the resin paste transfers from a metering device onto a moving film carrier. Chopped glass fibers drop onto the paste, and a second film carrier places another layer of resin on top of the glass. Rollers compact the sheet to saturate the glass with resin and squeeze out entrapped air. The resin paste initially is the consistency of molasses (between 20,000 cps and 40,000 cps); over the next three to five days, its viscosity increases and the sheet becomes leather-like (about 25 million cps), ideal for molding.
Product Announcements
- Heated thermoplastic prepreg forming die
- Independent Machine Co. 11/9/2009
- Energy-efficient hydraulic lab press
- Technical Machine Products 3/4/2009
- Data acquisition system for compression molding
- Lawton Machinery Group 1/8/2009
- Compression press line extended
- Greenerd Press & Machine Company, Inc. 10/1/2007
- SMC for HVAC
- IDI Composites International 2/1/2007
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