Manufacturing Courses
Manufacturing, Finishing and Assembling Composites
Course Code: 007
Duration: 5 Days
Course Fee: £1795 +VAT
Course structure: 30% theory, 70% practical
This course is aimed at technicians, engineers and supervisors who are involved or likely to become involved in the final manufacture, assembly and finishing of composite parts and those involved in the service and maintenance of such parts.
This course considerers the impact of machining, final finishing and the crucial importance of assembly using mechanical fasteners and adhesive bonded joints. Consideration is given to safe practices, preparation and failure due to poor joint design and fastener selection together with the impact these factors have on inspection, maintenance and replacement.
The course will cover:
- Health, Safety and Handling
- Coolants and cooling methods
- Surface coatings and preparation
- Cutting and trimming
- Application and correct use of hand and power tools
- Component and tool, finishing and material options
- Tool forms: cutting angles, abrasive grades, material and coatings
- Material property affects resulting from local cutting heat and removal rates
- Part holding methods during machining and sub-processing options to avoid breakthrough and/or delamination
- Feeds, speeds and tooling options to achieve surface finish requirements on metallic and non-metallic tools
- De-burring and trimming options
- Defects due to machining
- Polishing and protection
- Fastener styles and performance: implementation with combinations of material types
- Installing and changing fasteners to solid and cellular systems
- Fasteners failure, defects and repair
- Bonded structural formation and integration
24th – 28th March 2025
Comprehensive Application of Resin Infusion
Course Code: 008
Duration: 3 Days
Course Fees: £1144 +VAT
Course structure: 20% theory, 80% practical
Designed to support engineers, designers, researcher, lead technicians and technicians involved in development, tool design or component manufacture using resin infusion techniques.
This industry driven course in resin infusion is designed to cover a comprehensive practical approach to a wide range of component shapes and forms, using the latest resin infusion production techniques. Each delegate will produce composite mouldings, incorporating a variety of features and using a range of techniques and processes to include laminates and sandwich structures using different resin, fibre, core materials and bagging techniques.
The course will cover:
- Health, Safety and Handling
- Development of vacuum moulding techniques
- Material selection and performance, storage and life
- Resins, hardener and accelerant options
- Monolithic and cellular co-cured and co-bonded structures
- Tooling configuration
- Tool preparation and release systems
- Gel coat selection and application
- Feeder and vacuum systems
- Resin / fibre calculations linked to Darcy’s Law
- Infusion flow: Layout options, effects of temperature, viscosity and permeability on flow rates, flow rate calculations against a variety of shapes.
- Effects of cellular materials on resin flow
- Bagging and auxiliary equipment selection
- Application of flow mesh and alternative methods
- Application open, closed and intensified moulds
- Curing cycles and faults caused by incorrect cycles
- Break out
- Defects causes and solutions
- Problems associated with Resin Infusion
7th – 9th May 2025
27th – 29th August 2025
1st – 3rd December 2025
Master and Working Tool Design and Manufacture
Course Code: 010
Duration: 5 Days
Course Fee: £1795 +VAT
Course structure: 25% theory, 75% practical
Designed to support engineers, designers, researcher, lead technicians and technicians involved in the development of tooling for composite component manufacture.
The course develops a wide ranging, understanding of the development and application of current and novel techniques in the production of composite tooling. Delegates will have the opportunity to produce a range of master and working mould tools with complex geometry which incorporate the use of templates and the correct finishing producing a quality self-supporting mould tool. They will have the opportunity to discover the common tool making problems and defects and how to overcome these by design and modification.
The course will cover:
- Health, safety and handling
- Composite materials and properties
- Composite manufacturing planning
- Master tool design, material selection and construction
- Use of traditional, novel, CNC and vac forming to produce master tools
- Creation of a master tool from an existing component
- Making a master tool
- Working tooling design and material selection
- Making working tools using different materials and cure temperature from a master tool
- Use of closed tooling, intensifiers and vacuum bagging techniques
- Curing and tool repair methods
- Use of tooling to form a two part assembly
- Introduction to resin infusion tooling
- Inspection
- Identifying and rectifying defects
- Master and working tool storage and management.
22nd – 26th November 2025