Cure Monitoring of Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) / Bulk Molding Compound (BMC)

The curing behavior of Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) was observed using the LT‑451 Dielectric Cure Monitor. Bulk Molding Compound (BMC) is the generally the same material as SMC but in bulk form, so the analysis of results apply to BMC as well.  The data from dielectric cure monitoring clearly show:

• Critical Points identify characteristic features of the cure such as minimum ion viscosity, maximum slope of log(ion viscosity) and the time to a chosen end of cure 

• Cure time decreases as cure temperature increases, as expected for a reaction that is thermally driven