Home › Cell Biology › Magnet Assisted Composite Manufacturing: A Flexible New Technique for Achieving High Consolidation Pressure in Vacuum Bag/Lay-Up Processes
Cell Biology JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Magnet Assisted Composite Manufacturing: A Flexible New Technique for Achieving High Consolidation Pressure in Vacuum Bag/Lay-Up Processes

DOI: 10.3791/57254-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Apply magnet-assisted consolidation pressure to vacuum bag lay-up composites
  • ✓ Measure and quantify magnetic compaction pressure during fabrication
  • ✓ Determine composite density and fiber-to-resin ratio via burn-off analysis
Protocol

A new technique for applying consolidation pressure on the vacuum bag lay-up to fabricate composite laminates is described. The goal of this protocol is to develop a simple, cost-effective technique to improve the quality of laminates fabricated by the wet lay-up vacuum bag method.

Difficulty
intermediate
Total time
~4–6 hours per laminate (including cure time); burn-off analysis adds ~2–3 additional hours

Steps

1
Fabricate plain weave glass fiber laminate using MACM

Layer plain weave glass fiber fabric with resin and apply magnetic compaction pressure via vacuum bag lay-up process to achieve high consolidation without external equipment.

▶ 01:03
2
Measure magnetic compaction pressure applied

Quantify and record the consolidation pressure generated by the magnet-assisted system during the lay-up process using appropriate instrumentation.

▶ 04:49
3
Determine composite density and burn-off resin

Calculate composite density from fabricated laminate and perform resin burn-off analysis to establish fiber-to-resin ratio and composite quality metrics.

▶ 05:49
4
Analyze magnetic pressure and composite characterization results

Present measured compaction pressure values and composite property data, demonstrating correlation between magnetic consolidation and final laminate quality.

▶ 07:21
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