The Disadvantages of Compression Molding

By Lewis R. Humphries

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Compression molding is the process of applying heat to a base plastic resin, using hydraulic pressure to
create a basic shape. This occurs when the heat melts the resin and subsequent pressure forces the
malleable liquid into a particular mold. This process is conducted in a compression mold and is
traditionally used for the molding of thermoset materials. These form the initial resin or liquid, but their
properties dictate that, once set and cured through the compression molding process, they cannot be
reset.

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Compression molding is most suited to the mass production of simple designs.

Unsuited to Complex Designs

While there are three basic types of molds used in compression molding (flash, positive and semi-
positive), none of these lend themselves to complex or intricate part moulding. Because of the
complexity of the processes involved, the molds need to remain simple to function. This causes
limitations to the products that a mold can create. The molds are historically geared towards simple
designs and mass production.

Low Cost Effectiveness

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Compression molding turns resin into rigid shapes.

Because of the resolute nature of the material typically used for compression molding, it is not a
particularly cost-effective process. The main issue is that thermoset material is rigid when set and
therefore cannot be melted down in the case of rejected or unsatisfactory parts. In this instance, any
slight defect in the molded object cannot be repaired or reprocessed, and this factor is directly
responsible for waste of money, material, time and labor.

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Damage

Certain components within the compression mold are vulnerable and susceptible to breakage when the
finished item is removed from the equipment. The ejector pin is one such component, located in the
base of the mould. After the hydraulic press in the mold has compressed the plastic, it will eject the
finished product, and this is repeated each time the process is undertaken. Such repetitive use can lead
to wear and ultimately to component failure.

Process Duration

The compression molding process cycle can take between one and six minutes, depending on the
product and the finish required. Typically, the cycle will take between three and four minutes, and this
makes it more time consuming than injection molding. The average injection molding cycle is
approximately two minutes, and in the case of mass production of a single item, time can be a
significant factor.

Hand Lay-up Process Advantages And Disadvantages

The advantages of FRP hand lay up process

1) Complicated equipment is not required, it just needs simple mould and tools, so less investment,
quick effect, and i's suitable for the development of township enterprises in china;

2) Production technology is easy to master, after a short training, it can be mastered, but it'll take a long
time experiece and study to achieve extremely good product

3) The production of FRP products are not limited by size and shape, such as: large cruise ships, round
roof, sink, etc.;

4) It can be joint with other materials (such as: metal, wood, foam, etc.) at the same time;

5) For some of the large products (such as: large can, large roof) can be produced on the spot.

FRP hand lay up process disadvantages

1) Compared with frp pultrusion process, pulwinding process and filament winding process, he
production efficiency is lower, the speed is slow, the production cycle will be a little longer, so it's not
suitable for the bulk production of the product;
2) Product quality is not as stable machine. Because of the difference of the level of operating personnel
and the production of environmental conditions, the stability of product quality is not very good;

3) There is powder and smells in production environment Therefore, hand lay up molding process has its
advantages and can't be replaced by other methods, the existing shortcomings should be overcome in
operation process.

Fiberglass hand lay-up products application is wide, such as sports, building construction, corrossioin
resistant products, etc.

Description 
Resins are impregnated by hand into fibres which are in the form of woven, knitted,
stitched or bonded fabrics. This is usually accomplished by rollers or brushes, with
an increasing use of nip-roller type impregnators for forcing resin into the fabrics by
means of rotating rollers and a bath of resin. Laminates are left to cure under
standard atmospheric conditions

Materials Options
Resins: Any, e.g. epoxy, polyester, vinylester, phenolic. 
Fibres: Any, although heavy aramid fabrics can be hard to wet-out by hand. 
Cores: Any.

Main Advantages
1. Widely used for many years. 
2. Simple principles to teach. 
3. Low cost tooling, if room-temperature cure resins are used. 
4. Wide choice of suppliers and material types. 
5. Higher fibre contents, and longer fibres than with spray lay-up.

Main Disadvantages
1. Resin mixing, laminate resin contents, and laminate quality are very
dependent on the skills of laminators. Low resin content laminates cannot
usually be achieved without the incorporation of excessive quantities of
voids. 
2. Health and safety considerations of resins. The lower molecular weights of
hand lay-up resins generally means that they have the potential to be more
harmful than higher molecular weight products. The lower viscosity of the
 resins also means that they have an increased tendency to penetrate clothing
etc. 
3. Limiting airborne styrene concentrations to legislated levels from polyesters
and vinylesters is becoming increasingly hard without expensive extraction
systems. 
4. Resins need to be low in viscosity to be workable by hand. This generally
compromises their mechanical/thermal properties due to the need for high
diluent/styrene levels.

Typical Applications
Standard wind-turbine blades, production boats, architectural mouldings.

Published courtesy of David Cripps, Gurit