Industrial Curing Applications for Inflatable Seals

The Client:

A specialty electric generator manufacturer.

The Situation:

During the manufacture of specialty generators metal ribbons are wrapped and woven to produce the generator windings. These resin-coated windings must be cured to fuse the resin coating around the formed wound metal ribbon windings.

The Requirements:

The curing fixture must be capable of compressing the windings and holding them during the 350°F, 24-hour curing process. During this operation, the inflatable curing fixture will see pressures approaching 500 psig.

The Approach:

The application requires an inflatable that mounts on a metal mandrel and inflates radially outward to compress the generator windings. The metal mandrel and inflatable curing device is placed in the oven for the curing cycle. The generator windings, along with the curing fixture are subjected to a 24-hour cure at 350°F., which melts the resin and fuses the windings together.

The Solution:

Due to the heat that the curing fixture experiences, the inflatable is manufactured using silicone compounds. Kevlar® fabric is utilized for strength. A special Kevlar® belt is built into the outside diameter of the part to provide abrasion resistance from the sharp edges of the metal ribbon windings. To ensure the integrity of the inflatable curing fixture, each part is tested at 350°F, for 30 minutes at 500 psig. as part of the quality assurance requirements of the customer.

The Results:

The Seal Master silicone, Kevlar®-reinforced inflatable curing fixture performs successfully under the demanding conditions of the curing operation of the generator windings manufacturing process.