Press moulding method

Abstract

A method of press moulding a moulding material to form a vehicle body panel of fibre-reinforced resin matrix composite material, the vehicle body panel having a front A-surface and a rear B-surface, the method comprising the steps of: i. providing a heated mould tool having a lower mould part and an upper mould part, the upper mould part having a first moulding surface for moulding a front A-surface of the vehicle body panel and the lower mould part having a second moulding surface for moulding a rear B-surface of the vehicle body panel; ii. providing a multilaminar panel of moulding material comprising at least one layer of fibres and at least one layer of resin, the multilaminar panel having first and second opposite major surfaces, a surface resin layer of the multilaminar panel being at or adjacent to the first major surface; iii. locating the moulding material in the mould tool; iv. closing the mould tool to define a substantially closed mould cavity containing the moulding material; v. applying pressure to the moulding material in the mould cavity to configure the moulding material in a fully moulded shape; and vi. substantially fully curing the resin to form a vehicle body panel from the moulding material, the vehicle body panel having a front A-surface formed from the first major surface and a rear B-surface formed from the second major surface.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.