Title: Long Term Autoclave Testing of a Recycled Additively Manufactured Tool

Authors: Zachary I. Skelton, Tomas Hadrava, Phillip A. Lunn, Aubrey G. Jackson

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/c.24.0294

Abstract: "After reclaiming thermoplastic composite tools that had reached their end of life, Airtech has repurposed and recycled its Dahltram I-350CF material back into a usable form. These tools were machined and cut down to usable pieces for a large industrial grinder in order to be broken up enough to be reused in thermoplastic compounding. Using Large Format Additive Manufacturing, a layup mold was fabricated using this recycled grade for development testing. Thermal cycle testing was then completed to validate the performance of high temperature thermoplastic polymers for autoclave use and composite part fabrication. All testing was completed at Airtech Europe’s, Luxembourg facility, using their in-house inspection capabilities and functional testing equipment. During the course of 200 thermal cycles, dimensional stability and vacuum integrity were deemed critical and closely monitored. Dimensional stability was compared to baseline intermittently during the testing and vacuum integrity checks were conducted at the initiation of each set of thermal cycles. During the course of this testing thermoset composite parts were also fabricated to review quality and surface roughness of the tool surface was evaluated over time. Microscopy and visual analysis of the tooling surface was also performed to ensure no change was observable, even under high magnification."

References: [1] Vlastimil K., Hassen A., Lindahl J., Seokpum K., Post B., Love L. “Large Scale Additive Manufactured Tooling for Composites.” 15th Japan International SAMPE Symposium and Exhibition. Japan 2016. [2] Vlastimil K., Lindahl J., Dinwiddie D., Post B., Love L., Duty C., Matlack M., Fahey Jr. R., Hassen A. “Investigation of In-Autoclave Additive Manufacturing Composite Tooling.” The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo. Anahiem, CA 2016. [3] “Thermwood and Bell Collaborate on 3D-Printed Helicopter Blade Mold.” Composites World. Francis S. February 15th, 2019. May 8th, 2020. <https://www.compositesworld.com/blog/post/thermwood-and-bell-collaborate-on-3d-printed-helicopter-blade-mold>.Required reference format below [4] Skelton Z., Jackson A., Lunn P. “Thermal Cycling of Dahltram I-350CF”. The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo. Orlando, FL 2020. [5] Skelton Z., Jackson A., Lunn P. “Long Term Autoclave Cycling of Additive Manufactured Demonstration Tool”. SAMPE 2023 Conference. Seattle, WA 2023.

Conference: CAMX 2024 | San Diego CA

Publication Date: 2024/9/9

SKU: TP24-0000000294

Pages: 16

Price: $32.00