A PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING A FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE ARTICLE, THE COMPOSITE ARTICLE OBTAINED AND THE USE THEREOF

A process for the preparation of a fiber reinforced composite article comprising the steps of a) providing a mold, comprising an upper die (11) and a lower die (12), the lower die (12) having a molding surface and vertically extending side walls (14), the upper die (11) having a complementary molding surface and vertically extending side walls (13) substantially aligned with the side walls of the lower die, so that the upper die vertically moves into the lower die to form a cavity (17) in a partially and completely closed position of the mold, wherein the cavity (17) in a partially closed position is sealed vacuum-tight by at least one seal (15) placed around the vertically extending walls of the upper die (11), or the lower die (12), horizontally to the moving direction of the upper die (11), and wherein the at least one seal (15) also works as a resin retention seal which prevents the resin from leaking, b) applying a thermosetting resin composition onto a fibre reinforcement, and placing the thus treated fibre reinforcement into the lower die of the mold (12), or c) placing a fibre reinforcement into the lower die of the mold (12), and applying a thermosetting resin composition onto the fibre reinforcement d) moving the upper die (11) into the lower die (12) and partially closing the mold, e) evacuating the mold in the partially closed position by means of a vacuum outlet to a pressure of from 0.1 to 100 mbar, f) completely closing the mold and exerting an hydraulic pressure of from 2 to 100 bar onto the resin treated reinforcement to complete impregnation of the fibre reinforcement, g) curing the resin impregnated reinforcement, h) demolding the cured composite article, facilitates manufacturing of composite articles with reduced cycle times, said composite articles exhibit high fibre content, low void content and excellent visual and mechanical properties, and can be used for the construction of mass transportation vehicles, in particular, in automotive and aerospace industry. Un procédé de préparation d'un article composite renforcé de fibres comprenant les étapes consistant à a) se doter d'un moule, comprenant une filière supérieure (11) et une filière inférieure (12), la filière inférieure (12) ayant une surface de moulage et des parois latérales s'étendant dans la direction verticale (14), la filière supérieure (11) ayant une surface de moulage complémentaire et des parois latérales s'étendant dans la direction verticale (13) substantiellement ali