This is for ya pre-preggers out there.
Our oven manifold and connectors are getting clogged with what SEEMS to be resin buildup from the outgassing. It is smelly and mushy.
We run about 4 hoses with connectors into a manifold in the oven, and out to one connector on the outside of the oven. Connectored hose runs from that to the pump.
We have been doing CE cures recently…BIG cures.
What can I do to stop this goo from clogging everything up? I figured some sort of airweave filled manifold maybe? That way the outside connector which seems to be clogged the most won’t get all the goo.
I don’t think a resin trap before the pump would help, since all the goo builds up in the manifold and pump connector on the oven.
Oven curing with film bagging. I was hoping the airweave would trap the volitiles, but I’m guessing it will only stop solid matter, not gasses! We never have had a resin leak into the vac ports either, so that is why I say it would be gaseous resin buildup.
Since you stated Per-preg, maybe add extra bleed off areas or it is 250 degree and you running it up to 350 degree (oven temps off or what thermometer are you using?)?
Was the mold tilted to the vacumm inlet area?
I have been using a kitchen oven thermometer in th back of our classroom oven as the number on the dial is just that, numbers on a dial!
I have recieved the fixings to add a theromcouple and digital read out for the oven but not until I finish the new oven stand with locking lower cabinet doors for the vacuum pumps…if the class stays open!:rolleyes:
Well, we have a full oven with 2 sets of internal thermometers, no actual part thermocouples. We run our recent projects at 350 for a few hours (1.5up, 2down), and the mold ain’t tilted. It hardly fits in the oven, but it’s just a flat panel. It has 4 vac. gage port, and 3 vac. ports going into the manifold (just an alum. block with 10 QC connectors on it.
The ports I normally use for the vaccum are metal tubes, wrapped in fiberglass and flashbreaker tape, so I figured if there was actual resin transfer off the part (see below on bagging), I would get resin infused fiberglass wrap! They are perfectly clean!
I also bag this twice. One overlaping sheet over the panel, butt up bars on each side to maintain flatness, and a metal caulplate on top. Then sealing all seams and edges with tacky tape, and placing ANOTHER solid layer of teflon on it, with 4 tows of fiberglass as a beather to the under layers…so once again, if there would be leakage, those strings should be clogged with resin…they aren’t. Then it’s all airweaved and bagged.
My other major project is just a single ply wrapped on a rectangular bar on one side. Sealed and the ports have a good 3" from the part itself. Only minor leaks from the tape gaps…nothing more than 5mm blob.
It’s just so damn confusing where I’m getting crap from, and only in the manifold. I don’t even get anything in the vac. pump filter! Wonder if out hoses are leeching?? They do get cooked every day almost.
Well, I have my students also make a flat panel (clipboard) with 350 degree (got to figure out the degree symbol on the keyboard one of these days…:o) CF Pre-preg and I have them pre-heat the oven to 350 with an standard oven thermometer (we got in the parts for me to add a digital read out with thermocouples, but I have first to finish the new oven stand with lockable doors on my time…) and then place our RVBS with their CF peelplyed and breather already in there for only 1 hour.
Then remove and let the alum frame cool until with gloves it can be removed and the next student can insert theirs.
We get some minor pin holes but overall they come out great! And this CF PP is now 2+ years old!
Occaisionally, a student leaves the CF PP without peel ply or to short of peelply and get a little epoxy resin run off into the small 1/8" vacuum port holes, but I just have to redrill / clean them out.
Maybe you are cooking it too long (too hot, try a couple in there and calibrate them) and getting the resin flowing (freasher material) to much?
Not sure if you go to this site at all, but, no doubt youll get every Autoclave answer your looking for on it. The guys on this forum are truely composite genius’…
Well, we are following the manufacture’s guidelines for cure ramps. I’m not the one to deside to shorten the cure time though. We are having enough problems of our RF invisible epoxy heating up when they pump a few kilowatts through the antenna!!
I’m also confused why the buildup is only at the connector, not really in either manifold (though, moreso in the oven manifold)
ps: i just cleaned everything out agian, and I think it almost smells like vac. pump oil!!! Which as above, is odd that it’s only in that area, not the pump filter!
Eh, I’ll figure it out.
