Sheet wax reaserch

General Composites Discussions Products Talk
#1

Hello,

I work for a small wax manufacturer in the UK and we are considering manufacturing sheet wax as we have received several requests from clients. We currently produce wax exclusively for the aviation investment casting industry.

I would love to hear for your experiences of using the sheet wax both good and bad!

Are there any improvements you would like to see?

I have noticed that most people are using a high temperature version, is this because of the temperatures reached during the curing of the composites or is it just because it is pliable and therefore easier to shape?

As I mentioned we are based in the UK and if we decide that this is viable we will also be looking for partners to run trials with.

looking forward to hearing of your experiences,

Regards,

Mark

#2

Nothing at all?

This is not a sales punt I am genuinely interested to see if there are any improvements that can be made to the existing products.
I have plenty of technical data but I am more interested in peoples real life experience than what the lab boys tell me.

Thank’s anyway

Mark

#3

The sheet wax as produced by for instance Freeman, works pretty well. The fact that you do not get much response here is because it is mainly used in RTM-light mould production. There are not much people on this forum that use that method.

My biggest problem with sheet wax is shelf life. After a while the stuff goes brittle.

Also, application of the wax is pretty straightforward (lot of work though) but removing it! Boy o boy. That can be a real pain.

#4

Hi Herman,

Thank you for the reply, we are working to extend the shelf life of the wax already. In order to retain the flexabilety of the wax we have to make some small additions to the mix, however so far this has effected the melting point of the wax by about 10-20C hence my question about the temperatures reached during the curing process.

Thank you for the comment about removing the wax, I have herd this before and we have to look at the type of adhesive used in order to see if we can make it easier to do.

Great feedback

Kind regards,
Mark

#5

Herman, what is the shelf life of wax? I use it in my first RTML mold, application is not difficult, but take a lot of work for complex shapes…
Removing it, from the adhesive side I don’t have problems, glue remain on the mold but with alcool I remove fast…on the other side, I apply PVA, but was difficult to remove wax and plastiline.
Wax sheet works well, I will use it again

#6

Temperatures reached during mold making seldomly reach 40 degrees or more, to fight shrinkage.

Rapid tooling systems get hotter (probably max50-60 degrees C, but are seldomly used on wax.

#7

Can someone point me in the right direction to get more information on the uses of wax in composites. I’m unfamiliar with the applications for which wax would be used. Videos, photos, text description, etc.

Thanks Guys.

#8

Mostly used for RTM light, as in making a bottom mould and a top mould. The top mold should offset the part thickness. (and some edge detail). This thickness is achieved by using calibrated sheet wax, in several thicknesses. (usually from 0,5mm to 5mm, in 0,5mm or 1mm steps)

#9

Shelf life is about 1 year depending on the storage conditions. The worst this is exposure to UV light.
with reference to removing the wax once used this is something we are looking at but there is a balance as the adhesive has to be strong enough to hold the wax in place on curves and upside down without moving once warmed during curing. we are looking at a new release agent that will make this process easier but it will still take time.

Mark

#10

I use sheet wax when makin tooling flanges and incorporating joggles. Also find it useful doing modeling and mock ups. Panel fits can change and rather than performing surgery on a mold a trial run with wax works great. I like the stuff Freeman’s sells as well. A more flexible wax generally suits me best.

#11

I’m with dallas, I use this mainly for adding joggles to molds. Its really handy stuff for certain applications. I get mine from Freeman Supply - http://www.freemansupply.com/SheetWax.htm

They have some videos too - http://www.freemansupply.com/video/products/sheetwax.htm