Sheet Molding Compound

Sheet Molding Compound (SMC)

The research of the SMC process began in 1951. The process gradually matured in 1965. At the present time, there are hundreds of products that are considered low profile products. It is the most common production method of FRP products on the market. SMC is made from raw materials such as glass fiber (25 to 50 mm long), resin, filler, mold release agent, pigment, high temperature curing agent, and thickening agent. After the materials are processed through a SMC machine it forms a SMC sheet. Then it is placed into a heated mold at a temperature around 150°C at 1000 to 1200 psi pressurized into parts. In recent years the SMC process has developed specialized methods such as low pressure forming, fast cure molding (50 second cycle), automatic feeding and output system. It has further developed from SMC to HSMC (high strength SMC), XMC (unidirectional high strength), ZMC (injection molding compound), TMC (in 50 mm thickness), LSMC (low pressure), epoxy SMC or other engineering plastic SMC.