Composite Mouldings

Composite mouldings are specifically designed products manufactured from a composite material, one such composite material is GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic), GRP Composite mouldings can be manufactured for use in many industry sectors, such as,

• Water slides, theme park rides ect, for the Leisure industry,
  
• Columns, domed, canopies, cladding panels, for the Construction industry,
  
• Body panels, spoilers, lorry wind deflectors, ect for the Automotive industry,
  
• Radomes, enclosures, nose cones, housings ect, for the Defence industry,
  
• Boat hulls, super structures, radar arch's, ect, for the Marine industry,
  
• Guards, covers, enclosures, housings ect, for the Engineering industry,
  
• Speaker enclosures, shower trays, ect, Bespoke applications,

Designers, architects, and end-users alike have found that Composite mouldings has few constraints or limitations when it comes to design and can be manufactured to any size, shape, or colour required at an economic cost when compared with other more conventional materials, these moulded components can display a superior moulded finish that can be made to replicate bronze, stone, wood, granite or any BS or RAL colour required, these great moulded finish's can also be UV stabilised and can withstand environmental extremes when used for outdoor application, also, one of the great things that make GRP Composite the material of choice, is that it can be specifically tailored to meet the end users requirements, be it fire-retardantcy, chemical-resistance, corrosion resistant, or product that can be tailored to withstand specific loads and stresses, in short, GRP Composite mouldings are taking shape daily to meet the demands of a modern world.

Composite mouldings are manufactured with the aid of a mould, the mould is a reverse of the product, the mould can be male or female depending upon the design of the product, the mould is normally made from fibreglass, but can also be made from timber, latex, or metal, the mould will require several coats of a mould release agent, remember before you run the mould an additional coat of PVA (Poly Vinyl Alcohol) release agent is also good practice, this will help the first product to release from the mould with out the risk of sticking.

Now the mould is prepared and ready to go to work, its time to manufacture a composite moulding,

1. This process starts with the mould being painted or sprayed with gel-coat of the desired colour; the polyester gel-coat is the coating that will provide the pre-coloured finish to the moulded component, the gel-coat is allowed to cure, but will remain tacky, this is good, the tacky finish will enable a good bond for the laminate,

2. Once the gel-coat has cured, a layer of glass fibre is then applied to the back of the gel-coat, the layer of glass-fibre is then saturated with resin, the saturated glass-fibre is then rolled with a special roller, this is to remove any trapped air, and to consolidate the glass-fibres, more layers of glass-fibre can be applied and consolidated until the required thickness is achieved, the laminate is then left to harden and cure.

3. Once the laminate has cured, the product can be released from the mould, the product is normally left in the mould for twenty four hours, this ensures that the product has no imperfections, like, print through from the glass-fibre, shrinkage in the gel-coat ect, but remember, if there are any defects like the one's just mentioned, these can all be rectified by a skilled operative.

Congratulations you now have a small insight into one of the process's which enables the manufacture of Composite mouldings, as discussed at the beginning of this article, Composite mouldings are manufactured for a wide variety of end user applications, so whether you are a designer, architect, or end-user, and you are looking at your next project, the answer is simple, Composite mouldings, this truly innovative products can be designed and manufactured to meet any requirement at a comparatively economic cost.

About the author:
Richard Hayward from Fibreglass UK writes about COMPOSITE MOULDINGS visit www.fibreglassuk.com for all your COMPOSITE MOULDINGS requirements. The COMPOSITE MOULDINGS is to be the same as the article title and click through to www.fibreglassuk.com

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