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Perform a normal prepreg setup
Perform a vacuum leak drop-test
After we’re done setting up our prepreg part, we switch off the vacuum pump and close the vacuum valve on the bag and wait 30 minutes
After 30 minutes we should see how the bag feels and it should feel perfectly tight
Then switch the vacuum pump on with the vacuum valve on the bag closed, familiarize yourself with the tone of the pump and then open the valve on the bag. If the tone of the pump changes that means you have a leak, if not then you have a perfect and can go straight to curing.
If you aren’t using a vacuum connection while curing, preheat the oven to 80 degrees C and place the part into the oven for 8-10 hours.
If using a vacuum connection, run a silicone hose through a hole in the oven and connect it to the vacuum bag and run it throughout the curing process
During this process, it is also advised to attach a vacuum leak-flow indicator in-line with the silicone hose to serve as a useful visual indication of any problems occurring inside the oven, if it starts spinning, there is a problem whether there is a leak developing or the bag bursts.
The following is a picture of this small device attached to the hose:
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Once the curing process is done, let it sit for a couple of hours to cool down to room temperature before de-molding.
The final step is finishing the part if the panel doesn’t come out with a high gloss finish.
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Need to make a hole in an oven
Needs more equipment than the previous method
Conclusion
Although this process is simple enough, there is one problem that arises, finding an oven that would compensate for our task. Unless we buy our own oven, we will have to outsource and I doubt that a company would make a hole in their oven just for us so, we’d have to do the process without a vacuum connection. If we can somehow get a vacuum connection into a regular industrial oven, great but it may be unsafe without the proper setup.