Vacuum Bagging Supplies for Sale

Tough, Stretchable Film for Perfect High Vacuum Pressure

Reinforced Plastics sells breather fabric and vacuum bag film for the vacuum bagging process. What is vacuum bagging, though? Vacuum bagging, also called vacuum bag laminating, is a clamping method that uses atmospheric pressure to hold the epoxy-coated components of a laminate in one place until the epoxy finishes curing. Modern room-temperature-cure epoxies, like some resins, eliminates the need for a lot of the sophisticated and expensive equipment that used to be needed for vacuum bag laminating.

Due to the ability of epoxies, vacuum bagging is now a technique that is more widely accessible and many companies turn to Reinforced Plastics for the best in epoxy resins and vacuum bagging supplies. With vacuum bagging, users can laminate a wide range of materials from traditional wood veneers to synthetic fibers and core materials. For more information about the vacuum bagging supplies and epoxy resin supplies we have in stock, please reach out to us today. Get a quote for our materials.

Vacuum Bagging Supplies

Buy in wholesale quantities with Reinforced Plastics. Located on Long Island in East Farmingdale, New York, we ship to customers around the United States.

How Vacuum Bagging Works

Vacuum bagging uses atmospheric pressure as a clamp to hold laminate plies together and then the laminate is sealed within an airtight envelope. This envelope may be an airtight mold on one side and an airtight bag on the other side. When the bags gets sealed, the pressure on the outside and inside of this envelope equals the atmospheric pressure.

As a vacuum pump evacuates air from this envelope, the air pressure inside reduces, while the air pressure outside of the envelope remains the same. The atmospheric pressure forces together the sides of the envelope and everything within the envelope, which puts equal and even pressure over the surface of the envelope. The pressure differential between the inside and the outside of the envelope determines the amount of clamping force on the laminate. The maximum possible pressure that can be exerted on the laminate, if all of the conditions were perfect, is one atmosphere. A realistic pressure differential is 12-25 inches of mercury.

Vacuum Bagging Advantages

Here are some of the more notable advantages when you use vacuum bagging.

  • You can incorporate different materials into the laminate.
  • You can select materials to match the component's structural requirements and your choices are not limited by the clamping method.
  • Vacuum bagging provides firm, evenly distributed clamping pressure over the entire surface regardless of the material being laminated. What this does is allow for a wider range and combination of materials, as well as a superior bond between the materials. It is superior to the mechanical clamping or stapling, which applies pressure only to the concentrated areas. It can also damage fragile core materials, but may not provide enough pressure to bond in some areas and may wind up requiring additional adhesives to bridge the gaps.
  • Using vacuum bagging will result in a thinner, more consistent glue line and fewer voids due to the uniform clamping pressure across the laminate. Because atmospheric pressure is continuous, it evenly presses on the joint as the adhesive spreads evenly within.
  • It lets you control the epoxy content and removes excess adhesive from the laminate, which results in high fiber-to-epoxy ratios. Ultimately, this translates into higher strength-to-weight ratios and cost savings.
  • Allows for using a greater variety in molds and creating custom shapes. When vacuum bagging, the atmosphere pushes down on the top of the envelope and pushes up equally on the bottom of the envelope or mold. Since the atmospheric pressure provides equal and even clamping pressure to the back of the mold, the mold only has to be strong enough to hold the laminate in its desired shape. This until the epoxy finishes curing and means the vacuum bag molds can be relatively lightweight and easy to build.
  • All of the materials in the laminate are wet and laid up at the same. This means the vacuum bagging lets you complete the laminating process in one efficient operation.