Indutch Composites is the leading producer of composite molds used in both infusion and prepreg manufacturing processes in India. The tooling team at Indutch Composites has skilled pneumatic, hydraulic, structural design and electrical engineers, who design the mold from the ground up to the exact specifications of the customer.

The inner skin and outer skin of the mold is created using vacuum infusion with tooling grade vinyl ester/ epoxy resins with Tg up to 240 °C along with glass fiber reinforcements. The two halves of the mold are connected using a mold turnover system with hydraulic hinges that regulate the opening and closing of the mold. A hydraulic control system that clamps and secures the two parts of the mold ensures bonding. Every mold manufactured at Indutch is accompanied with complete engineering documentation which includes the master plug drawing, mold frame drawing, heating zone layout, hinging and clamping design, transportation plan, 3D model, FEA and surface report.

Indutch Composites ensures the accuracy of the mold by checking the pressure and suction mold alignments for bond line thickness, root diameter, and overbites. The mold profile is inspected using a laser tracker to check if the surface is within the specified tolerance and thermography to check the heating zones.

Mold turnover, alignment, and clamping systems for blades

Indutch Composites has in-house designed hydraulically operated mold turnover systems with five to six hinges according to the size of the blade that needs to be turned over. Jigs designed by Indutch Composites precisely place and hold the shear web inside the blade during the cure for repeatability, reduction of cycle times and defects in the manufacturing process.

Indutch Composites designs alignment and clamping systems for ergonomic placing and spacing on different points according to the size of the blade.  These systems range from automated to semiautomated according to the customer’s needs providing even pressure for bonding thus eliminating bonding failures.

Mold Heating Systems

Electrically Heated Systems

Indutch Composites specializes in designing custom heating zones for the mold to achieve short cure time and energy saving. The tracing wires used by Indutch Composites has a cure capability up to 200 ºC, with heating ramps up to 10 ºC/minute and a temperature differential of +/- 5 ºC per heating zone. Each heating zone has two temperature sensors, one safety switch, Klixon/ bi-metallic strips for safety and is controlled either by PLC systems.

Liquid Heated Systems

Hot water-based liquid heating systems controlled by PLC automation, unlike electrically heated systems, are easier to maintain and allow prepreg materials to cure evenly at high temperatures.

Air Heated Systems

Surface air heating systems controlled by PLC automation provides stable, evenly distributed cure times, which helps to conserve energy and money used to heat the mold.