What is a carbon fiber composite mold?
What we usually call “carbon fiber” is actually carbon fiber composite material, and carbon fiber composite material is not the only material in the mold. This is because the ultra-high stiffness of carbon fiber is conditional: when there is only carbon fiber composite material itself, it is very brittle and has a tendency to split and crack. To retain its properties, the carbon fiber is dipped in epoxy, a gel-like material, before entering the mold, creating a composite material.
The carbon fiber composite mold we are talking about is actually a fiber-reinforced resin matrix composite structure. The manufacturing of the mold is also the same as the molding of carbon fiber composite materials, that is, the carbon fiber composite material is applied by lamination or other methods. onto the transition core mold, and then solidified to form a mold. Of course, some follow-up processing is required before being used as a mold, such as trimming, grinding, surface coating, assembly, etc.
Advantages of carbon fiber composite molds:
The obvious advantages of carbon fiber composite molds are light weight, high stiffness, thermal expansion coefficient close to the formed carbon fiber composite components, and high dimensional accuracy of the manufactured components. At the same time, the carbon fiber composite mold surface is formed by prepreg, which can be used for any repair and reuse, and the use efficiency is high.
Second, unlike metal, carbon fiber’s stiffness is easier to control; its stiffness properties are only present in one direction, so its stiffness can be adjusted depending on how the carbon fiber composite is tuned into a straight line or placed in a mold. This is called anisotropy. Metals, on the contrary, are isotropic and exhibit the same strength and stiffness properties in any axis of the material.
What should be paid attention to when designing carbon fiber composite molds:
In the mold design, the main consideration is the use temperature, thermal expansion performance, strength and stiffness, and the process performance of the mold. In particular, large molds must have sufficient stiffness and strength to meet all process requirements in the molding process and maintain shape and dimensional stability under high temperature and high pressure.
