You can see the fixture in action here. You can see 24 oz/yd2, plainweave fiberglass here and here. Currently ~500 yards of this fiberglass are also for sale.

 


This UV light bank is currently for sale: best offer. An additional case of the FR72T12/BL9/VHO-1/P light bulbs are also for sale. The bulbs are six feet long and the fixture uses 18 bulbs for a layup area of five feet by six feet. The custom metal fixture is used in conjunction with an electronic hoist, which are readily available at many retail locations. This light bank cures UV resins in 10 minutes and has built in spacing bars at either end to proper place the lights above the layup.

You can see the fixture in action here. You can see 24 oz/yd2, plainweave fiberglass here and here. Currently ~500 yards of this fiberglass are also for sale. Contact Dream for more information.

Vacuum Infusion Process has been around for 20 years or so. Only recently has this method started to gain a foothold in the composite's industry. Infusion in general, as their are at least a half dozen common forms of infusion, is now one of the fastest growing techniques. By combining infusion with a UV resin, multiple benefits can be achieved. The UV resin is a one part mix, a vinyl-ester resin, that is unaffected by heat and time, unlike epoxy resin systems. The UV resin can sit on reinforcement (fiberglass, Kevlar, carbon fiber, etc.) for an indefinite amount of time. The only thing that cures the resin is UV light. Either direct Sunlight or man made UV light sources. Dream opted to invest in a large bank of fluorescent lights that allow use during the day, night, rain or shine. Some boat builders fabricate/cure an entire boat hull with nothing more than the Sun, rolling the hull out of the shop and into Sunlight.

A common question I am asked is about the UV light itself. Many people have assumed the heat from the lights is what makes the part cure or is part of the curing process. Although the fluorescent lights are 160 watts each and do get pretty warm after being on for 10-15 minutes, they are still fluorescents and produce far less heat than an incandescent of the same wattage. It is solely the UV rays of light that cure the part. These are the same bulbs that are used in tanning booths.
 
 

Spiral tube, pictured top left on this page, is used to flow the resin across the table first, then across the reinforcement. There are hoses at all four corners of the part. The hoses on the left side of the part are the vacuum lines. The black hoses on the right side feed resin into the lay up.

The unique characteristic about infusion is that the reinforcements are laid down dry, all layers. There is no need to wet each layer out, add another layer, wet it out and so on. All layers can be added at one time, then sealed under the specialized infusion film (acts similar to a vacuum bag film but has a texture that provides a path for resin to flow across). Vacuum is applied and once max vacuum is reached, the resin is then introduced into the part. A low viscosity resin is preferred for infusion so that it can flow faster through the material.
 
 
 

To learn why an oven is an important part of advanced composite fabrication, please click here