Autoclave Cost??

General Composites Discussions Equipment Talk
#1

Hi

Can anyone give an idea of the cost of an autoclave for composites manufacture. Size would probably be around 2m diameter by 5m long?

#2

A used one may be from $30k to $100k depending on the control system.

#3

Thanks for that. Is there a market out there?

#4

A more important question might be, “How much does it cost to RUN a autoclave cure cycle?”
The last company I was involved with had 2 claves and no idea what it cost to run them. needless to say, the company has since folded:( :frowning: :frowning: :frowning:

It is definately a real consideration to think about before getting one

#5

I’ve posted pics of the autoclave area before, and let’s just say to run 7 of them through one night is more than the total cost to run most shops for a month.
But one must realize that autoclaves are generally only used to produce composite products of the highest quality and the manufacturing costs are factored in.

#6

Is there a market out there for autoclaves, or autoclaved parts? Both yes. I don’t know any european companies, but in the US, there is TEC and ASC Process Systems.

As for clave’ed parts…of course! All depends on what you want to and can make. Aircraft and military parts are normally claved, along with high performance car parts. Though, there are TONS of research going into out-of-autoclave manufacturing, due to the costs…

I think our small (24"dia x ~40" long) clave runs 1000-3000$ a run, depending on time. Some thermoplastic parts only need a 500deg 30min cure, while some prepreg takes 6hr to cure. Remember, you are also pumping N2 into the clave due to the nature of air corroding metals at high temps and pressures.

#7

Holy cow… I didn’t realize it cost so much to run one. Guess I won’t be planning to buy one hehe.
How much $ in nitrogen is pumped into such an autoclave? I’m sure the electricity bill is killer too.

#8

not sure. We have a LN2 tank about 6ft tall by 3-4ft dia outside to supply N2/pressure. That lasts about 4-5 avg runs. I’ll see if I can get actual $'s from the maintainers.

#9

Thanks for the info -

#10

Dear Sir,
We are the manufacturer of Composite Autoclave I hope to get your valuable feedback details are given below you can email me:

Rakesh Verma (Overseas manager)
rakesh@olymspan.com
+8613861177443
www.olymspan.com
www.aacautoclave.wordpress.com
www.compositeautoclave.wordpress.com