How do you heat the moulds so that its a consistant temp across the mould?
When using infusion, do you keep the heat on whilst its infusioning or switch off (say) 30mins before infusion?
If you use a specific infusion resisn (rather than epoxy for instance) do they need a “warm” mould?
Would placeing the mould into a Polystyrene box after its infused but still under vacuum pressure be enough heat for it to cure properly? Working along the lines that its still warm from the first heat up.
Thanks
What temp is the area you’re working in? Most of the time you don’t need heat. If you must the easiest way is with lamps.
Ask the place you get your resin from about the cure temp.
I post cure all my PER and VER parts at 120-130 Deg F. using lamps.
standard lamps with a heat bulb in it or what?
Have read Baz’s posts and he has some lamps built into his mould (small mould, small lights) which has given me the ideas.
Have also seen an “oven” made out of polystyrene using hair dryers to heat the parts up, and they reached 100 easy.
To hot and it melts, lol
A 1 cu ft box lined with tin foil and a 100 watt bulb should reach about 140 degs if you can believe the MythBusters! 
If you have a farm supply nearby look for “brooder lamps”. They’re just about the same as a heat lamp w/o the UV. Wire that up to a dimmer switch and you’ve got control over the heat.
I saw an ole’ fella doing an infusion repair on a boat hull once. He had two bags over the repair. First one was for the conventional infusion of the repair. Once that was done he clamped off the lines and brought down the vaccum on the second. After the resin kicked off he inflated the second and placed two 300 watt halogen lights about 2 feet away from the baloon. In essence a mini green house. The repair was finished and ready for fairing & paint in about 4 hrs as opposed to having to wait for the next day to finish. Quite ingenious.
Hmmmmmm
and here was me hopeing infusion was going to be simple!
(lol)
I use a 2ft x 2ft x 2ft 2.5" thick polystyrene box with a 25W incandescent light bulb.
When the ambient temp is about freezing, it keeps the inside of the box at approximately 48 degrees celcius.
I’ve just sourced enough to build a much larger box in the roof of my garage. I’ll put two bulbs in it, and experiment with bulb wattages to get similar temps.
That’s an unvented box mind you… the next one will vent to the outside, so might need larger bulbs to maintain the temps I want.
Now that sounds more like it.
Does that give an even temp across the mould?
To be honest, I’ve no hard data on if it heats the mold evenly. I would expect so. It’s a fairly well insulated unit, of pretty small volume, so it should heat pretty evenly.
Leaving a 1"x30" gap at the lid, drops the temp about 10 degrees C.
The next one I’m working on at the moment will have a thermostat switch, which’ll turn the light bulbs on and off periodically. That and a very small exhaust fan running all the time, to cut the smell inside the garage down to a minimum.
Check where you get the resins. Many resins do not need to be heat cured (though, slight heating will speed the cure). Many epoxies will need to be heat cured, which is easy if you have small parts.
yes, a foam box with some lamps or heating elements, or blow driers will work, as long as you keep some sort of thermostat on the system, so you don’t OVER cook.
Same thing with pre-pregs.
but check to see if you even need to heat anything.
Yep, I’m only doing it to cut down on smells, and to speed the curing when it’s sub zero here 
I thought it was always pretty in NZ! Maybe you should take up distilling, to keep warm then 
One day when I get a house, I’m sure I will have a blue foam box laying around for composite work.
As for smells…well, it’ll smell until you get it bagged, heat or no heat.
I have fix from 4 alouminium panels a box. The panels are connect it together just with screws and the upper panel I put it at the top. Inside I install one simply heater just like the heater that we are using when it’s cold out side. The temperature inside in full power is over 70-75C. It’s very easy and if you want somethink more stronger just put 2 of them:D
This is my way to cure the product.
Hi.
I think we can use electric blanket,we can have 57 'c.
We use Poliester resin CES VM 11 70 ’ - 16 Hours,to full cure.
Blanket size 180cm x 80 cm 180 cm x 120 cm.
I it’s good autoclave.
Bulbs dont provide temperature evenly,and we can have slanting laminate.
I make mould witch bulbs and i get what i want …
Maybe some resin rection less on that metod.
And when we have difrent temperature we can lost power impact laminate.
Theanks
That is olny my idea.
electric blanket = autoclave ???
Sometimes we can use electric blanket,
rug, with regulation temperature.
That is cheap metod to Heat up laminate.
40 $ usd is max Cost for blanket - 60 watt power.
Max Heat is around 57 'C.
That metod he is use to production air plain parts,som times.
Blankets can have meny size from big to midge.
Autoclave have temperature regulator,and have iso,when we have big Production with mark iso.
When you use poliester resin it is good choice,because poliester resin have fast reaction to full cure,i use salt kobalt,and butanol hardenr.
Thank you !
Have nice day.
That is olny my idea.
Yes you can replace autoclave,and use that metod.
Can i know where do live.
When we have specialistic production,we must cure lamiate in special temperature,because we can lost some durability.
We must read resin technical cards.
We can use that blanket when we use vacuum,and for new ideas.
How look true cure ?
We have standard temperature of air 25 'c.
Start - we should enlarge temperature by degree to max for our resin.
When we positive finish cure,we should reduce enlarge temperatue from max to air temperature, to have best effects.