Resin Infusion & Direct Infusion™️

Resin Infusion (RI)

Resin infusion is the process whereby resin is drawn into a dry laminate whilst it is held under vacuum against a rigid mould by a sealed flexible membrane. The most commonly used membrane consists of a disposable film (vacuum bag) and this film is sealed against the mould edges using a sealant tape.

Resin infusion is particularly relevant when making very large structures as tooling costs are relatively low. Unlike RTM, the ‘B’ surface finish of the resulting laminate is not controlled cosmetically but excellent laminate properties can be achieved. Volatile emissions can also be dramatically reduced, making resin infusion an excellent alternative to large-scale open moulding.

Recent developments with renewable silicone vacuum membranes have widened the scope for resin infusion and can sometimes be used to reduce the general cost of consumable materials.

Typical Direct Infusion™️ Strategy for Large Structures

As the infusion process has become more widespread the need to mechanise the handling, mixing and delivery of the resin has become more important. The traditional technique of hand-mixing bulk resin becomes impractical and potentially risky when using the process on any significant scale. Problems with material ratio consistency, potential bulk-exotherm and high levels of waste can have a significant detrimental effect on the viability of the process.

A meter-mixing machine can be used to simply dispense mixed resin ‘on demand’ into a suitable container but Composite Integration have taken the technology a step further by pioneering the development of systems capable of injecting ‘directly’ into the infusion process. The addition of strategically positioned in-mould pressure sensors (IMPS) to monitor infusion pressure, control flow rate and regulate volumetric compression, enables completely automated, precision control over the whole operation.

Direct Infusion for Large Scale Infusion Guide

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