JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #118 - January/February 2018 - 31

Lighter stronger ... faster: automating RTM pump press systems

General composites' RTM
pump press system

for later placement in the RTM tool, also
a manually. The lid is screwed onto the
tool, the injection hoses connected, and
the tool transferred to the press where
injection and cure take place. Following
cure, the tool is transferred to a cooling
track. At the end of the cooling phase,
the tool is delivered to a workplace and
opened. The cured crossbow barrel is
then released, and the mould can be
cleaned and coated with a release agent.
At this point, utilizing one mold, one
press and one operator the cycle starts
again.
Programmable Logic Control
After thorough re-review of each of the
steps, the team determined that the
best place to improve the process was to
minimize as much of the repetitive and
variant prone human oversight from the
required steps. With that, for less than
$20,000 and within six months, GCi
engineers internally designed, built and
implemented a pump and press control
system that, when programed, fulfilled

a majority of the manual processes
required at the time through curing
without the need for that redundant
human oversight. The operator preloads
predetermined required pressure values
prior to initiation. Previous procedural
processes required operators to physically monitor the molding of different
parts to ensure that specified incremental
steps were executed at a specific time
based on part specifications. Specifically,
these human steps included but weren't
limited to; monitoring the amount of
resin that enters the mold, the amount
of time the resin remains in the mold,
cutting or clamping off shoot and vent
tubes when necessary from the mold and
making sure the system holds a certain
amount of pressure so that the part is
molded correctly. These steps are now
automated using a Programmable Logic
Control (PLC) system that monitors and
controls shoot parameters in the pump,
while sensors and actuators integrated
with the PLC RTM pump monitor and
control the press.
Doubling part production
capacity per day
These efficiencies have effectively
saved operators nearly three hours of
"mold monitoring" time for each barrel
produced; doubling part production
capacity per day. Pre-automated daily
production expectancies were approximately 15 units and now that number
can reach as high as 30 in a normal shift.
With these advancements in place, the
same single operator can effectively
manage three tools and three presses

concurrently versus one. Moreover, this
automation practice reduces scrap with
a much higher rate of consistency. The
result is a single operator that can reach
customer requested production rates.
Shorter cycle times
This process technology needs to continue to be advanced before composite
components in high quantities can
conquer mass markets. Shorter cycle
times, automated handling, material development are in the focus of the current
demand. For GCi, further near future
planned upgrades include automated
resin flow speed control to optimize the
filling process for pressure sensitive cored
parts and vacuum sensor interlocks that
ensure that the mold cavity and vacuum
function are sealed properly; all networked for data collection. Collectively,
these changes will further reduce errors
in the mold making process, leading to
more consistent product output.
A High Performance Composite, LTD
company, GCi is entering a fourth decade of providing innovative "out of autoclave" composite solutions. Capable of
delivering high quantity volume through
proprietary resin transfer molding, GCi
is a proven contract manufacturer of efficiently made small to medium sized advanced composite components spanning
a variety of markets; automotive to recreation to medical to military and beyond.
ISO 9001:2015 Certified, AS9100:2016
Certified, ITAR Registered, FDA/DOD
Registered.
More information:
www.generalcomposites.com

TenPoint Crossbow in action
with GCi's RTM processed
carbon fiber barrel and GCi's
Continuous RTM limb arms.
Photo courtesy of TenPoint
Crossbows.

GCi's RTM processed carbon
fiber crossbow barel

N°118 January - February 2018

/ jec composites magazine

http://www.generalcomposites.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #118 - January/February 2018