Spray on "hardcoat" , foam tooling
Spray on "hardcoat" , foam tooling
(OP)
We currently build most of our master tools for composite
parts from different density's of foam depending on the
required tolerances. Mostly we use 10-15lb yellow foam.
If we need "hard" tools we pull a "splash" off of the foam
tool and then make our parts from that. I am looking for
a spray on or roll on coating that would harden up to a
density of something like Renboard that we could then
do a finish machining operation on. This would allow us
to pull parts right off the master without making splashes.
If anyone has used or hear of such a thing I would greatly
appreciate the information to be passed along.
Thank you.
parts from different density's of foam depending on the
required tolerances. Mostly we use 10-15lb yellow foam.
If we need "hard" tools we pull a "splash" off of the foam
tool and then make our parts from that. I am looking for
a spray on or roll on coating that would harden up to a
density of something like Renboard that we could then
do a finish machining operation on. This would allow us
to pull parts right off the master without making splashes.
If anyone has used or hear of such a thing I would greatly
appreciate the information to be passed along.
Thank you.





RE: Spray on "hardcoat" , foam tooling
Boeing Helicopter in Philadelphia uses this tooling method and they have published papers in SAMPE Symposia.
RE: Spray on "hardcoat" , foam tooling
I was just on the Renshape site and found no syntactic foam. I am trying to source an epoxy-based w/glass microspheres syntactic foam also to use as a core in radomes. Do you have any leads there?
RE: Spray on "hardcoat" , foam tooling
Go to http://www.nfgsales.com/LCTC%20Procedure.htm for info on tooling.
RE: Spray on "hardcoat" , foam tooling
RE: Spray on "hardcoat" , foam tooling
One thing to consider is the thermal issues with the topcoat and the base material. If you are using prepreg or cooking the molds for other reasons then you will need to consider using a denser foam base. Anything less then 6-8lb foam will cause the topcoat to crack and distort after the first cure.
Also, I have found that usless you plan to do a substancial amount of rework between uses the molds are only really good for 5 parts maximum.