Vacuum Infusion Forming Technology for FRP Yacht Body

 

As a high-end consumer product that meets people’s spiritual needs or enjoyment needs, the demand for yachts will inevitably show an upward trend with the development of the economy and the improvement of purchasing power.

 

With the rapid development of the fiberglass yacht industry, the requirements for the hull forming process are getting higher and higher, especially the environmental protection and cost requirements of the forming process.

 

 

At present, there are few yachts at home and abroad that are made of metal, and most of them are made of fiberglass. Dawn Yacht Design believes that most of the traditional hull forming is done by hand lay-up, which has low productivity, high labor intensity, poor labor hygiene conditions, difficult to control product quality, low performance stability, and low product mechanical properties.

Especially for large hulls with complex structures, high mechanical performance requirements, and large bodies, it is difficult to implement the traditional hand lay-up forming process, so Dawn Yacht Design chooses vacuum core material infusion process on yacht materials to solve this problem.

 

The Vacuum Infusion Process (VIP for short) involves laying “dry” reinforcing materials (glass fiber, carbon fiber, sandwich materials, etc., which is different from the vacuum bag process) on the mold, then laying the vacuum bag and extracting the vacuum in the system to form a negative pressure in the mold cavity.

The pressure generated by the vacuum is used to press the unsaturated resin into the fiber layer through the pre-laid pipes, allowing the resin to infiltrate the reinforcing materials and finally fill the entire mold. After the product is cured, the vacuum bag material is removed to obtain the desired product from the mold.

 

 

Advantages of Vacuum Core Infusion Process

 

Higher Quality Products:

 

In vacuum, the resin impregnates the glass fiber, and there are very few bubbles in the product compared to traditional manufacturing processes. No excess resin is left in the system, and the glass fiber content is very high, up to 70% or even higher. The resulting product is lighter and stronger. It is also very stable from batch to batch.

 

Less Resin Loss:

 

With the VIP process, the amount of resin can be accurately estimated, which is difficult to control due to the variability of operators in hand lay-up or spraying processes. VIP can minimize resin loss and, more importantly, save costs.

 

Even Distribution of Resin:

 

For a product, the pressure generated by the vacuum in different parts is consistent, so the resin impregnation speed and content of the glass fiber tend to be consistent. This is critical for FRP parts with stable weight requirements.

 

Less Process Evaporation:

 

There are no brushes or rollers in the production process, which will not cause the resin to splash or drip, and there will be no large amount of odor. So it can provide a clean, safe and friendly working environment, protecting the physical and mental health of the operator.

 

Use Single-Sided Mold:

 

Using only one side of the mold, you can get a smooth and flat product on both sides, which can better control the thickness of the product.

 

Unlimited Time to Install Equipment:

 

A common problem in traditional hand-layup process is the time factor. The operation time of many resins (after adding curing agent) in the container is about 30 minutes, although some resins (such as epoxy resin) can provide an operation time of up to 2 hours. But some large projects take more than 2 hours. However, the vacuum infusion process provides almost unlimited time to install equipment.

 

Since the reinforcement material is still dry when the vacuum pressure is applied, there is no time limit before the resin is poured. After laying the vacuum bag, there is enough time to patiently and carefully find the leaking part. If some unfavorable factors are difficult to eliminate, you only need to remove the vacuum to adjust. There is no time limit before deciding to start pouring resin. Before that, adjustments can be made continuously.

 

Cleaner, Healthier and more Environmentally Friendly:

 

The vacuum infusion process is much cleaner than the traditional lamination process. The vacuum infusion process does not require brushes or rollers, so there will be no resin splashing or spilling. There is no need to walk around the open mold, manually infiltrate the layers, and worry about being dripped by resin.

 

In addition, the resin smells much less. Because only the container in which the resin is placed will emit the smell of the resin, and the smell from the container can sometimes be controlled. The vacuum infusion process provides a cleaner, safer and more friendly working environment.

 

Therefore, the use of this process method can further reduce the weight of the FRP hull while reducing the support structure. At the same time, the closed-cell sandwich material has a guide groove in the length and width direction of the plate surface (on one or both sides). When using the resin injection process, it can serve as a flow channel for the resin and can also drive away the accumulated air.

 

At the same time, in terms of structure, it can be cut into shapes and attached to the hull structure to play the role of vibration absorption and buffering, sound insulation and heat insulation. Therefore, the use of sandwich structure brings greater freedom to design. The core’s compound curved shape allows for easy assembly and the outer skins can be correctly aligned with the load paths, resulting in a more complete and optimized structure.