Polymer composites are in a period of significant growth due to the increased use in the automobile, marine and aerospace application. Some of the advantages of using composites over other materials are weight savings, corrosion resistance and functional integration. However, long cycle times and higher tooling costs of the available manufacturing processes make it difficult to mass-produce composite products. Resin infusion double flexible tooling (RIDFT) is a novel process developed by the Florida Advanced Center for Composite Technologies (FAC2T) at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering aimed at tackling some of the above-mentioned problems. The use of one-sided mold provides a huge cost advantage over Resin Transfer Molding (RTM). However, using cost effective materials can reduce the cost further. In this thesis research, the various steps involved in the manufacture of the RIDFT mold were identified. The seven steps to manufacture a RIDFT mold are, Initial Graphics Exchange Standard (IGES) file tooling import/repair, mold design, material selection and preparation, NC programming, machine setup, machining and finishing and polishing. The problems at each of these stages were identified. The solutions to some of the problems, which might result in decrease in the tool manufacturing time, were found. To tackle with IGES file import problems some guidelines are presented. The various steps involved in the mold design stage are: compensation of permeable layer thickness, compensation of silicone layer thickness compensation of thickness of part and addition of draft surface. The tooling parameters compensation part of the mold design process was implemented by using both offset and scaling methods using C programming. The materials used for tooling until now are reviewed for pros and cons. Some of the tooling materials, that can be used in future, are also suggested. In order to help the mold manufacturer with the selection of machining parameters a macro was written in Microsoft Excel. Three cases were studied to show how the objectives of thesis are met. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Industrial Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester, 2003. / November 11, 2003. / CAD Errors, RIDFT, NURBS, Mold Design / Includes bibliographical references. / Chuck Zhang, Professor Directing Thesis; Okenwa Okoli, Committee Member; Zhiyong Liang, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_181212 |
| Contributors | Kuppusamy, Arvind (authoraut), Zhang, Chuck (professor directing thesis), Okoli, Okenwa (committee member), Liang, Zhiyong (committee member), Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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