Method of manufacturing a thermoset polymer utility vault lid

Some previously proposed lids or covers for utility vaults are made from concrete, polymer concrete and cast iron to withstand loads. A drawback of these cover types is that they are quite heavy. Due to their weight, they are difficult to remove for repair, maintenance or adding additional services. Utility vault and pit cover lids are also made of plastic but these have limited application for use in areas where they are subjected to less load. The problem with plastic lids is that because they cannot withstand substantial loads, they have limited applicability and plastic lids provide less coefficient of friction when wet versus polymer covers. Further, the weatherability of such lids is not long term. A mold for molding a fiber reinforced polymer material utility vault lid is provided comprising a cavity die and a core die. The cavity die has a textured surface including a pattern of features at different depths for creating slight protrusions into a surface of the lid to push fibers away from the surface of the lid, creating a resin rich surface. The core die has a telescoping shear edge for interfacing the core die within the cavity die. The lid is molded between the cavity die and the core die. The mold also has a lid ejection mechanism for removing the molded lid from the mold.