Energy and Time Efficient Microwave Curing for CFRP Parts Manufactured by Filament Winding

Process time reduction and energy/cost savings are usually in the focus of production process improvements. New technologies provide possibilities to achieve significant enhancements for relevant operation figures. Curing cycle times for CFRP manufacturing depend on several requirements: Type of resin, requested glass transition temperature, used equipment and energy source as well as sample size, weight, fibre volume ratio, fibre orientation etc. Conventional methods are mostly based on heat conduction while microwaves offer a selective and volumetric heating of the samples. Process time reduction and energy saving are the positive effects of the microwave curing technology. This paper will give an overview of the current status of this process technology not only focussing on technical aspects but also covering the process and economic effects. This work has been performed under the German BMBF project 02PJ2131, FLAME under the program Energy Efficient Light Weight Construction.