AFAB 120
COMPOSITES
Vocabulary #11
Words
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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8.
9.
10.
Mold/tooling
Contoured part
Vacuum bagging
Self-enclosed bagging
Double vacuum bagging
Leak test
Pressure plate/caul plate
Shot bags
Clecos
Spring clamps
Definitions:
1. Mold/tooling- hollow item utilized to provide shape to a laminate part while curing.
2. Contoured part- curved surface, specially of a curing form.
3. Vacuum bagging- the application of atmospheric pressure to a part while curing, by enclosing
the part in a plastic bag and extracting all the air.
4. Self-enclosed bagging- a single bag, 3x the size of the part, is placed over the entire part. The
size of the bag permits the bagging film to wrap around the entire part (both inside and outside
the part) which stops the part from collapsing.
5. Double Vacuum Bagging- assists in providing more pressure, to withdraw more resin and air
pockets. A steel plate is applied over the area. A second vacuum bag is placed over the first bag
so that it can remove the pressure off the first bag, permitting more flow of the resins.
6. Leak test- test conducted on the final bagged parts before entering the last curing stages to ensure
that the vacuum pressure will hold during the curing process.
7. Pressure plate/caul plate- smooth plates utilized in the duration of the cure process to apply
pressure in a constant manner.
8. Shot Bags- a bag full of shot or other heavy material. Weight of the bag supplies pressure.
9. Clecos- utilized to evenly distribute pressure throughout an area with the assistance of a smooth
metal plate, the result being that the pressure will remain even after the resin flow.
10. Spring Clamps- are used in conjunction with pre-shaped caul plates to apply pressure to the
repair