JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 64

prototyping

Rapid prototype composite tooling
In an effort to make composite manufacturing more economical, Leon Fainstein P.Eng., an instructor of the Mechanical Engineering Technology department (MET) at Red River College, and MET student Serge Broeska have developed a new means of making dissolvable mandrels and patterns, otherwise known as “rapid prototype composite tooling.”

By

SERGE BROESKA PRODUCT DESIGNER RED RIVER COLLEGE

64

C

omposite manufacturing currently has huge overhead costs partly due to the expense of tooling. These tools are made with expensive CNC machines, which are very slow and costly to run and maintain. The plaster or salt mandrels used today are also expensive because they need special machinery to make the mould. By contrast, rapid prototype composite tooling involves only one affordable machine, a 3D printer, to make dissolvable mandrels and patterns. This printer is costeffective for any shop size and can make complex wet layup or prepreg composite parts at any scale of commercial operation.

Computer-aided design

To produce these dissolvable mandrels

jec composites magazine / No64 April 2011

Fig. 1: Dissolvable mandrel of bicycle head tube

and patterns, a computer-aided design (CAD) model must be imported into the 3D printer software. The 3D printer will print virtually any shape in about 4 to 8 hours and can even print multiple mandrels/patterns at once. The capacity of the build tray does, however, determine the size of the mandrel or pattern printed but the mandrels or patterns can be divided in sections and assembled afterwards. The media used by the 3D printer is a dissolvable plaster with a binder mixture that only costs about $0.20 USD per cubic centimetre. This

is relatively inexpensive compared with the cost of CNC machining and metal moulds.

A simple process
Making complex composite parts using dissolvable mandrels is a simple process. First, the mandrel is designed, printed, and coated with polyvinyl acetate (an agent that prevents mandrel integration into the carbon fibre). The mandrel is then laid up with wet layup or prepreg, vacuum bagged and cured. After curing, the mandrel can be dissolved and broken away by submerging it in water. During this study, it was discovered that the mandrels and patterns begin to burn at 200°C so the composite material must be cured below this temperature.

Application
To demonstrate the complexity of the composite parts that can be produced in this fashion, a pair of “time trial” bicycle handlebars were made in the lab at Red River College. It was created with only the use of CAD software, the 3D printer, vacuum bagging materials, curing supplies and a kitchen oven.

Productivity and flexibility
Where manufacturers require a permanent composite mould for short production runs,



JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011

Cover
Edito
Point of view: fast expansion
Contents
Agenda of Events
COMPANY & BUSINESS
In Brief
Reinforcement - Red Composites: a real expertise in carbon fibre
Housing - Housetec: a young company with a background of 40 years’ experience
Asia - Hua Dong Fibreglass, an SME that exports worldwide
APPLICATIONS
Construction - Creative eye-catching design for a new Sheraton hotel
Marine - Multiplast builds the Groupama V070
Awards - ICERP-JEC Innovation Awards Programme 2011: eight companies rewarded
MARKET
Human capital - Latest appointments
Sports and Leisure - Rossignol Group: innovation and performance in winter skis applications
FEATURE WIND ENERGY
Reinforcement - WebCore Technologies: great ambitions in the wind industry
New rovings for wind turbine blade applications
Prepreg spar caps: a solution for today
Software - Industrial software for manufacturing large components such as wind blades
Leveraging an end-to-end solution for composite wind turbine blades
Laser placement - Manufacturing rotor blades with highest precision while reducing costs
Automation - A fully-automated manufacturing process for wind blades
Maintenance - An innovative, certified blade repair system
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Testing - Using nano-scratch testing to detec composite failure
Mould - Processing technology for the rapid production of advanced composites
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATIONS
Robot - Robotic fibre placement machine helps reduce energy consumption
Process - A new industrialized construction process for transport infrastructures
Fibre placement - Tape laying and fibre palcement: complementary solutions
NDT - What’s new in non-destructive testing labs?
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Cover
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 2
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Edito
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Point of view: fast expansion
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 5
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Contents
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 7
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Agenda of Events
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - In Brief
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Reinforcement - Red Composites: a real expertise in carbon fibre
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Housing - Housetec: a young company with a background of 40 years’ experience
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Asia - Hua Dong Fibreglass, an SME that exports worldwide
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 13
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Construction - Creative eye-catching design for a new Sheraton hotel
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 15
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Marine - Multiplast builds the Groupama V070
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 17
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Awards - ICERP-JEC Innovation Awards Programme 2011: eight companies rewarded
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 19
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 20
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 21
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 22
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Human capital - Latest appointments
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Sports and Leisure - Rossignol Group: innovation and performance in winter skis applications
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 25
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 26
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 27
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Reinforcement - WebCore Technologies: great ambitions in the wind industry
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 29
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - New rovings for wind turbine blade applications
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Prepreg spar caps: a solution for today
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Software - Industrial software for manufacturing large components such as wind blades
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 33
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Leveraging an end-to-end solution for composite wind turbine blades
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 35
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 36
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 37
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Laser placement - Manufacturing rotor blades with highest precision while reducing costs
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 39
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Automation - A fully-automated manufacturing process for wind blades
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 41
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Maintenance - An innovative, certified blade repair system
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 43
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 44
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Testing - Using nano-scratch testing to detec composite failure
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 46
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 47
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 48
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Mould - Processing technology for the rapid production of advanced composites
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 50
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 51
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 52
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Robot - Robotic fibre placement machine helps reduce energy consumption
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Process - A new industrialized construction process for transport infrastructures
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 55
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - Fibre placement - Tape laying and fibre palcement: complementary solutions
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 57
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - NDT - What’s new in non-destructive testing labs?
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 59
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 60
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 61
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 62
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 63
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 64
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 65
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 66
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 67
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #64 - April 2011 - 68
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