What are the raw materials used in FRP products？

FRP is a composite material reinforced by resin and glass fiber. FRP products are widely used. Most facilities of yachts, automobiles, water storage tanks and highways are FRP products. 

So which materials are used for FRP?

Resin: FRP resin is divided into epoxy resin and unsaturated resin. Epoxy resin is less used and generally used for high-end FRP products with higher requirements. So everyone generally uses unsaturated resin, and unsaturated resin is divided into multiple models, and you can choose different models according to your requirements.

Curing agent: special curing agent for resin, added in proportion, and general resin manufacturers will support production. Sale.

Accelerator: A special accelerator for resin, which is also added in proportion, and is also produced by general resin manufacturers.

Filler: The main fillers are talc powder, agate powder, wollastonite powder, etc.

Mold: FRP products first need to use mold silica gel to remake the mold, and only with the mold can other materials be poured into the mold.

Release agent: Silicone release agent or wax type release agent can be used, of course, silicone release agent is the first choice. Silicone mold release agent is a by-product of mold rubber factory.

How is FRP produced and what is the process?

Preparation of fiber-reinforced materials: The cloth or felt used for hand lay-up must be surface-treated in advance, and pre-treated fiber-reinforced materials should be used as much as possible. No matter what kind of fiber and products, it must be kept dry before use and not stained with oil. The tailoring design of reinforcement materials is very important, and generally should be tailored in order to improve efficiency and save cloth.

Preparation of glass fiber reinforced plastic resin glue: The process index of resin glue includes three indexes: viscosity, gel time and curing degree.

Preparation of FRP gel coat paste: The gel coat paste is used to make the surface gel coat layer, its function is to improve the weather resistance, water resistance and chemical resistance of the product, and prolong the service life. Because the gel coat resin has thixotropy, it should be fully stirred during use; the thickness of the coating should be controlled at about 0.25 to 0.4 mm; when the gel coat layer starts to gel, the FRP should be glued immediately, and the mold will be released after it is completely cured; use the gel coat When the resin layer is used, prevent contamination or infiltration of small bubbles between the gel coat layer and the glass fiber reinforced plastic.

Preparation of FRP hand lay-up tools: The most commonly used hand lay-up tools are scissors, brushes, scrapers, scrapers, circular grinders, polishers, electric drills, etc.

Formulation of glass fiber reinforced plastic molding process route: The correct selection of the process route is the guarantee of completing the task according to quality. Before organizing production, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of product performance, structural characteristics and construction conditions, and formulate a feasible process route based on analysis and research.

FRP paving construction: Paving is an important process of hand lay-up and must be carefully operated. Before pasting, check whether the mold is missing. When there is a gel coat layer, check whether the gel coat layer is gel or not. After the inspection is qualified, at the beginning of the paste, you must brush the glue first, and then spread the cloth, pay attention to expelling the air bubbles until it reaches the design thickness.

Glass fiber reinforced plastic curing: Hand lay-up products are often cured at room temperature, and the normal curing process is divided into three stages: gel, curing and mature. The product can be demolded only when it is gelled and cured to a certain strength. For example, polyester FRP products generally need to be cured for 24 hours after molding to reach the release strength. The demoulded products cannot be used immediately, but they need to be cured for a week in an environment higher than 15°C to reach the use strength. However, the growth of the strength of polyester fiberglass often takes a year to stabilize.

Demoulding, trimming and assembly of FRP: After the product is cured to a certain strength, it can be demolded, preferably with wooden or aluminum tools, to prevent the mold and the product from being scratched. Large products can be demolded with the help of jacks or cranes, but avoid excessive force or gravity knocking. For some products with larger sizes and complex shapes, pre-release methods can be used. After demolding, FRP products need to be processed in time to remove burrs and spurs, and repair surface and internal defects.

Advantages of FRP 

The organic combination of FRP and resin makes FRP have advantages that some steels cannot match.

Good designability of FRP can be pre-made into various shapes, solid, hollow, sandwich and other different structures, and polyurethane foam is filled in the middle of the sandwich structure to improve the insulation performance of the enclosure (roof, wall), and the cold storage constructed by FRP It has good heat insulation performance with mobile houses, and each side wall and roof has its own bearing capacity; it can also be colored arbitrarily to make various beautiful and beautiful products to meet people's needs; it can also be used by choosing different raw materials, quantity, and glass fiber Layer mode to meet the mechanical requirements in different directions.

FRP has good mechanical properties. The proportion of FRP is about 1/4~1/5 of that of steel. It is lighter than aluminum alloy and belongs to lightweight construction materials. It is very convenient in the process of transportation, installation and maintenance, greatly reducing the weight of the building, making it safer and more reliable. The tensile strength is close to or even higher than that of carbon steel, with good fatigue resistance and excellent mechanical properties.

Glass fiber reinforced plastic has strong chemical resistance. The use environment is different, and the selected resin is also different. The produced glass fiber reinforced plastic is resistant to a variety of acids, alkalis, salts and organic solvents, as well as microbial resistance, and achieves different anti-corrosion purposes. It is often used in chemical construction, underground engineering and underwater special engineering construction.

FRP products have good light transmittance. In the production process of FRP products, if you add a light-transmitting resin and a glass fiber fabric combination, you can produce products that transmit light and have very good lighting effects, such as some decorative materials.