HEATED TOOLING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING COMPOSITE AND PLASTIC MATERIAL

摘要

A method and apparatus for heating composite or plastic materials (16) which are formed into a final product. Heat is generated from a carbon fabric (21) which may be embedded in a ceramic tool base using conventional ceramic molding techniques. The generated heat is uniformly distributed over the surface area of the carbon fabric (21), and the heat transfer from the ceramic tool base to the composite or plastic material (16) may be controlled to maximize heat flow into the composite or plastic material. The heat source and material being formed may be placed in a vacuum environment to aid in the formation of the material about a mold surface. The temperature of the material being formed may be maintained at a constant temperature by controlling the current supplied to the carbon fabric in proportion to a measured temperature. The heat source may include cooling channels which permit the ceramic tool to be cooled.