Making large composites with closed mold processes

While it’s possible and common to manufacture goods by connecting several composite components together, sometimes you need one large, solid material. Traditionally, large-scale composites would be produced using open molding. This is a flexible form of producing composites that can be used for a variety of large-scale materials.

However, open molding results in material waste and sometimes a challenging work environment. Many businesses address this issue of waste by using closed mold processes to manufacture composites parts.

The benefits of closed mold processes

Closed mold is often a process of producing composites with Reusable Bag Molding, Light Resin Transfer Molding (LRTM) or Vacuum Infusion (VIP). These processes all use molds and other resources that reduce the waste of material and ensure a consistent product. As far as production goes, closed mold processes have historically not been used for large products because of the size limits of molds and bags. However, recent developments in composite manufacturing have enabled manufacturers to produce large materials with closed molding.

There are several reasons why a business would want to produce composite components using closed molding instead of open molding. Some advantages of closed molding include:

• Less waste
• Fewer fumes and emissions in the environment
• Product consistency
• Fast production
• Low material and labor costs

Composites One is the number one composites distributor in North America

Do you manufacture composite parts using open molding? You can likely benefit from using a closed mold process. At Composites One, we carry a variety of composite materials that can be used for these processes as well as a team of closed mold experts.

We distribute composite materials from 44 locations across the United States and Canada. This is to ensure you get the products you need in a timely manner to meet project deadlines. Contact us today to learn more about composites and closed mold processes.