I posted this question in another thread (Gelcoat help needed…) but thought I’d post via a new thread since this is really a new topic. That said, I’m thinking about building a DIY oven (via wyowindworks design) to post cure my new inner landing gear door molds AND then later the actual inner landing gear doors that will be vac infused in the molds (postcure before demolding). For the molds I will need to build an insulated enclosure that fits the wing (surface of the wing/inner gear door molds will effectively become the bottom/floor of the oven)… then a free-standing oven for that will fit both molds.
Do you all think this is a good idea? If so, what should I shoot for in terms of ramp up schedule, max temp, max temp duration, ramp down schedule?
- The PE gelcoat TDS says to post cure at 150F for 3 hours
- The PE tooling resin TDS says to post cure at 250F for 2 hours
The HDT of the VE resin used to construct the wing is approx 220F so I obviously cannot ramp up anywhere near the 250F recommended for the tooling resin so what do you all recommend? Should I default to the lower 150F post cure temps for the gelcoat or go slightly higher? I’m guessing here but maybe ramp up to 150 for 3 hours as per the gelcoat TDS, then ramp up another 20-25F degrees (170-175F) for 2 more hours to try and get the HDT up as much as possible without damaging the VE resin/eGlass wing) for the finished molds? I’d really appreciate any advice you guys have on this topic…
My ultimate goal is to end up with (a.) a mold that will hold its shape/not deform over time and (b.) a finished part (inner landing gear doors) that wont warp/deform over time. Again the gear door layup schedule will be: Spray in PE white gelcoat, then CF, CF, CF, 1/4" roacell RIMA51 core, CF, CF, CF (possibly a layer of eGlass on each side to allow some material to sand before hitting the CF).
TDS for both the tooling resin AND the gelcoat below:
[COLOR=blue]http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/pdf/…oolingInfo.pdf[/COLOR]
[COLOR=blue]http://www.shopmaninc.com/specs/spec404.html[/COLOR]