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Fiberglass molding is a process in which reinforced resin plastics are formed into useful shapes.

Making a mold

The plug or buck is required first to make a mold. This will be like an original part that is to be copied, but usually slightly bigger to account for the shrinkage of the mold.

First the plug must be waxed with mold release wax. Depending on the desired surface, PVA may be sprayed on as an additional mold release agent. However, this will reduce the smoothness of the mold's finish.

Once the plug has its release agentGAL. applied, is painted with a roller, brush or sprayed onto the plug. Spraying requiers a special paint gun, made specific for gelcoat. Gelcoat is a pigmented resin without reinforcement. Tooling gelcoat is used for its harder, more durable finish.

Molds are usually made from the same fiberglass the part is made from. A mold should be 5 times thicker than the part being made. For instance, if a part is made from two layers of 1.5 ounce mat, then the mold should be 10 layers of 1.5 ounce mat. Layers of fiberglass will be applied, and tooling resin is added for bonding the fiberglass layers together. Special rollers are rolled over the wet laminate to drive out air bubbles.

Once the final layers of fiberglass are applied to the mold and allowed to set up, wedges are driven between the plug and the mold to separate the two. Once released you have a negative image of the original part.

Advanced techniques like use two mold halves. The second mold half is made by building the product thickness up in the bottom mold with calibrated wax sheets, and then laminating the top mold half over that.

Making a part

The making of a part is the reverse of making a mold. Release agent is applied to the mold. The mold will be sprayed with gelcoat in the desired color of the part, then layers of fiberglass are built up to the desired thickness. On

in which reinforced resin plastics are formed into useful shapes.

Making a mold

The plug or buck is required first to make a mold. This will be like an original part that is to be copied, but usually slightly bigger to account for the shrinkage of the mold.

Once the plug has its release agent applied,is painted with a roller, brush or sprayed onto the plug. Spraying requiers a special paint gun, made specific for gelcoat. Gelcoat is a pigmented resin without reinforcement. Tooling gelcoat is used for its harder, more durable finish.

Making a part

Fiberglass Fabrication Industry Experience

Fiberglass Planter Plug
(6 foot x 30 inch x 22 inch)

When selecting a business partner to produce your fiberglass part or component you want a fiberglass fabrication expert who has extensive experience in your industry. Only with experience can a fiberglass design engineer or fiberglass fabricator make recommendations to you that can head off potential pitfalls or problems.

If your product is marketed to the aerospace industry, does your fiberglass fabricator know what is necessary to meet FAA requirements? Fiberglass Sales does. If your fiberglass part is for the marine environment can your fiberglass fabricator tell you how salt water and fresh water affect different resins? Fiberglass Sales can. Fiberglass Sales, Inc. has extensive experience in many industries. No matter what your requirements are, chances are we have been there before.

Fiberglass Sales, Inc. are Fiberglass and composite specialists. They can answer any questions you may have about the use or potential use of fiberglass, composites, or carbon fiber in your product. to get any information you need to make the best choice for your product.

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Fiberglass Prices, Costs, and Quotes

Although we use fiberglass as an example here, the processes and factors which affect price are similar for most composite fabrication projects, FRP’s, and carbon fiber.

There are several factors that can influence the overall cost of a fiberglass fabrication project:

Product Design Cost

Fiberglass Plug Design, Development, and Creation

Fiberglass Mold Design, Development, and Creation

Cost of manufacturing the actual fiberglass part or component

Some of these cost factors may not apply to a particular fiberglass project. For example, if you supply Fiberglass Sales Inc. (the fiberglass fabricator) with a finished part, component, or plug, and we are able to pull a mold directly from that part or component, then there will be no charge for product design or plug development.

Product Design
Product design cost is based on our estimated design time multiplied by our hourly rate. Product design services utilize full CAD development to minimize development time and cost and the time and cost required for design modifications and changes.

Plug Development
Plug development cost is also a factor of design time and hourly rate. The cost to produce the plug is also affected by the complexity of the part or component and the type of plug required. Some plugs can be produced by hand or cut from foam, while others need to be milled from wood or machined from more complex material.

Fiberglass Mold Design
Fiberglass mold development cost is based on the complexity and size of the mold. A small multi-faceted mold can be as costly as a larger but simpler mold (a box, for example). The projected number of future parts made from this mold will also affect the pricing. The more parts in the initial purchase order and the greater the number of parts projected to be made from the mold, the lower the price charged for the mold in both absolute and relative terms.

Fiberglass Part Production
Five items influence the per-unit cost of fiberglass part production.

The number (quantity) of parts in a purchase order - Larger quantities reduce the per-unit part cost and are less expensive on a per-unit basis versus smaller quantities of the same part or component.

The weight of each composite or fiberglass part - We calculate fiberglass part costs (taking into consideration the above outlined factors) by weighing the part (or calculating the estimated weight) and multiplying this by a per-pound price. In general, the heavier the part, the more it costs. The exception is for fiberglass parts that weigh less than one or two pounds where weight plays less of a role in calculating cost.

The material used (cloth or woven roven) in each part - Different materials have different cost structures.

The physical size of each part - Very bulky parts can influence cost as they require more personnel to handle and space to manufacture.

The complexity of the part - Simple two dimensional parts that can be 'layed - up' faster than complex parts will generally be less expensive to manufacture on a per-unit basis.
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Why Use Fiberglass

Why Use Fiberglass, Composites, Or Carbon Fiber?
There are unique properties of Fiberglass, Composites, and Carbon Fiber that make them suitable and desirable for a wide range of product applications. These properties offer huge advantages over other types of construction materials. The advantages of Fiberglass, composites and Carbon Fiber can be generally summarized in the following categories:

Versatility and Freedom Of Design

Carbon Fiber Fabric

Affordability and Cost Effectiveness

Strength & Durability

Appearance

Special Physical Properties
Let us examine these properties in more detail.

Versatility and Freedom Of Design
Fiberglass and composites such as carbon fiber can be tooled, molded, and fabricated into almost any shape or design. There are few restrictions on color, finish, shape, or size. This offers many opportunities to architects and designers to allow their creativity to flow. If you can imagine it, we can most likely fabricate it out of fiberglass, composites, or carbon fiber. The finished product will be lighter, stronger, lower maintenance and, in most cases, less costly than manufacturing the same product out of alternate materials.

Affordability and Cost Effectiveness
Fiberglass and composites are very affordable and cost effective solutions for almost any application, component, or part. The costs of engineering and prototyping are relatively low compared with other manufacturing techniques and mediums. Once plugs and molds have been created, parts can be easily duplicated in quantity at extremely cost effective price points. Production up scaling can be cost effectively accomplished by replicating molds and plugs and increasing the number of fabricators; no need to "ramp up" production by investing in expensive machinery and tooling plants in order to increase quantities or speed.

Additionally, the non-corrosiveness and durability of fiberglass results in lower costs for maintenance and warranty work. Finally, the end product being lighter and stronger than alternative materials results in additional savings in shipping and storage costs.

Strength and Durability
Fiberglass is an attractive, lightweight, and durable material. Other composites such as carbon fiber can be even lighter and stronger. Fiberglass and composites have one of the highest strength to weight ratio available for component fabrication. Pound-for-pound, fiberglass is stronger than sheet metal or steel. Manufacturing parts from fiberglass builds strength directly into a finished product, much more so than using standard injection molded or non-reinforced plastics or materials.

Fiberglass is also highly resistant to environmental extremes. Fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) does not rust and is highly resistant to corrosion. In fact, the non-corrosive properties of fiberglass give it a much longer life expectancy than metal, wood, and non-reinforced plastics when used in highly corrosive application environments. When exposed to extreme temperatures, salty or humid air, sun (ultraviolet light), or acidic chemicals, fiberglass, composites, and carbon fiber will last longer and perform better than most available alternatives.

Appearance
This is not your father’s fiberglass. Today, fiberglass and composites can be gel coated right in the mold with a wide variety of colors and textures to achieve just about any desired look and feel. Fiberglass and composite parts can be finished in flat, semi-gloss, or high gloss. Although fiberglass components can still be painted, the available options for colors and textures virtually eliminates the need for after-production painting.

The sleek, molded look of fiberglass components gives products an extremely finished and “high tech” appearance. This can be especially true with specialized composites such as carbon fiber. Using fiberglass for your product’s covers and enclosures definitely improves it’s esthetics when compared to the rigid, boxy look of alternatives such as sheet metal or the “cheap and flimsy” look of non-reinforced molded plastics.

Special Properties of Fiberglass
Fiberglass is dielectric. This means that it is non-conductive and RF transparent. This makes fiberglass ideal for applications where metal housings can affect electronic performance of a product or where electrically conductive metal housings can pose a safety hazard to employees or components.

Fiberglass is chemically inert. This means that it will not react chemically with other substances with which it may come into contact. This can prevent potentially hazardous and explosive situations that arise with other metallic or petroleum based materials.

Fiberglass also has superior and more desirable acoustic qualities than plastic or metal. Under similar conditions fiberglass and composites tend to vibrate less and remain quieter than sheet metals. This can reduce the overall operating volume of your machinery and even help you achieve acceptable or required sound levels for your equipment. For even more sound deadening capability, fiberglass and composites can layered with matte material in order to achieve the desired level of acoustic deadening.

Fiberglass and composites are structurally stable. Fiberglass and composites exhibit the least amount of expansion and contraction with heat and stress compared to plastic, metal, or wood. This means that your products will hold their shape better under severe mechanical and environmental stresses.

Fiberglass Sales, Inc. are Fiberglass and composite specialists. They can answer any questions you may have about the use or potential use of fiberglass, composites, or carbon fiber in your product. Contact our helpful staff to get any information you need to make the best choice for your product.

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