There is provided a member of a mold stack (100, 800), the member comprising: a member body (102, 802) defining a member molding surface for defining, in use, a portion of a molding cavity for molding a molded article, a member cooling circuit (120, 820) having a plurality of member cooling channels (128, 829), the plurality of member cooling channels (128, 829) being coupled in parallel to a source of cooling fluid, the member cooling circuit (120, 820) being fully encapsulated within the member body (102, 802).

The present disclosure is directed to a method for forming a cured composite component. The method includes laying one or more layers of uncured composite material onto a conductive core. An electric current is supplied to the conductive core to resistively heat the one or more layers of uncured composite material to a temperature sufficient to cure the one or more layers of uncured composite material into the cured composite component.

The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a model car body, including preparing a steel mold comprising a core plate with an inner core, a top plate and at least two side plates; attaching at least one pre-fabricated plastic block to a side of the inner core of the core plate; combining the core plate, the top plate and the at least two side plates with each other, wherein a cavity is formed among the top plate, the side plates, the inner core of the core plate and the at least one pre-fabricated plastic block; injecting melted plastic material into the cavity, wherein the melted plastic material is filled with the cavity and the at least one pre-fabricated plastic block is encased by the melted plastic material; solidifying the melted plastic so as to form the model car body, wherein the at least one pre-fabricated plastic block is integrated with the plastic model car body; separating the core plate, the top plate and the at least two side plates from each other; and releasing the model car body with the at least one pre-fabricated plastic block from the mold.

A preform mold (100) including a core plate (210), a cavity plate (410) and a plurality of mold stacks (MS) mounted between the core and cavity plates (210, 410). Each mold stack (MS) includes a core insert (250) mounted to the core plate (210), a cavity insert (440) mounted to the cavity plate (410) and split mold inserts (350) mounted between the core and cavity inserts (250, 440). The core inserts (250) are mounted to the core plate (210) by fasteners accessible from a rear side of the core plate (210). When the mold (100) is assembled, the core inserts (250) can be secured by the fasteners in a fixed condition in which they are immovable relative to the core plate (210). Also disclosed is a method of aligning the core inserts (250) by securing the core inserts (250) from a floating condition, in which they are able to slide relative to the core plate (210) along a sliding interface therebetween, to the fixed condition.

A preform mold (100) including a core plate (210), a cavity plate (410) and a plurality of mold stacks (MS) mounted between the core and cavity plates (210, 410). Each mold stack (MS) includes a core insert (250) mounted to the core plate (210), a cavity insert (440) mounted to the cavity plate (410) and split mold inserts (350) mounted between the core and cavity inserts (250, 440). The core inserts (250) are mounted to the core plate (210) by fasteners accessible from a rear side of the core plate (210). When the mold (100) is assembled, the core inserts (250) can be secured by the fasteners in a fixed condition in which they are immovable relative to the core plate (210). Also disclosed is a method of aligning the core inserts (250) by securing the core inserts (250) from a floating condition, in which they are able to slide relative to the core plate (210) along a sliding interface therebetween, to the fixed condition.

A blemish free surface is formed on the cavity side of a set of mold or die blocks, said set consisting of a core side and a cavity side, by use of a softer alloy on the core side as contrasted to the cavity side so that, during plastic injection molding, the core side will wear at the parting line in preference to the cavity side whereby erosion of the set occurs on the core side in preference to the cavity side leaving the cavity side erosion free.

A main object of the present invention is to provide beneficial improvements relating to a method for producing a fiber reinforced plastic product, the method including curing while pressurizing a prepreg preform by using a core having a fusible part as means for pressurizing. A method for producing a fiber reinforced plastic product, the method including: a core preparation step of preparing a core comprising a fusible part and an outer skin covering the fusible part; a molding step of disposing a prepreg preform inside a mold together with the core, and heating and pressurizing the prepreg preform in the mold to obtain a cured product; and a core removal step of removing materials of the fusible part from the cured product, in the molding step, at least a portion of the prepreg preform being pressurized by expansion of the core, in which the fusible part comprises a first fusible part and a second fusible part having a fusion temperature higher than that of the first fusible part, a material of the first fusible part and a material of the second fusible part are incompatible with each other, and in the molding step, the first fusible part fuses partially or entirely, while the second fusible part does not fuse partially or entirely.

A core mould element can be mounted between first and second mould parts. The first and second mould parts and the core mould element can be mounted between first and second thermal platens. The thermal platens can have generally planar faces for mounting in a press, for maintaining a desired pressure within the mould assembly. The thermal platens can provide for heating and cooling the mould assembly, and each can include a central portion and end portions, with thermal breaks between the central portion and the end portions. Bores can extend through the central and end portions, for receiving heating elements and pipes for cooling fluid. The end portions can include bores for a cooling fluid for cooling the end portions.

A core mould element can be mounted between first and second mould parts. The first and second mould parts and the core mould element can be mounted between first and second thermal platens. The thermal platens can have generally planar faces for mounting in a press, for maintaining a desired pressure within the mould assembly. The thermal platens can provide for heating and cooling the mould assembly, and each can include a central portion and end portions, with thermal breaks between the central portion and the end portions. Bores can extend through the central and end portions, for receiving heating elements and pipes for cooling fluid. The end portions can include bores for a cooling fluid for cooling the end portions.

Systems and methods are provided for hardening wing panel preforms. One embodiment is a method for fabricating a wing panel for an aircraft. The method includes loading a wing skin preform onto a contour of an Outer Mold Line (OML) tool, applying stringer preforms to troughs of an Inner Mold Line (IML) tool, aligning the OML tool with the IML tool, and assembling the IML, tool and the OML tool into a cartridge that molds a wing panel preform comprising the wing skin preform and the stringer preforms. The method further includes inserting the cartridge into a press, and hardening the wing panel preform into a composite part while the cartridge resides in the press.