Resin infusion is a sophisticated technique for manufacturing high-performance, void-free composites even on large or complicated molds. In this manufacturing process, reinforcement is laid into the mold ‘‘dry’’, i.e. without any resin, and then enclosed in a specially configured stack of bagging materials (such as peel-ply, infusion mesh, and bagging film) before being subjected to vacuum pressure using a vacuum pump.
Once all the air has been removed from the bag and the reinforcement has been fully compressed under this pressure, liquid resin (mixed with hardener) is introduced to the reinforcement through a pipe which then infuses through the reinforcement under the vacuum pressure. Once the resin has fully infused through the reinforcement, the supply of resin is cut off and the resin is left to cure, still under vacuum pressure.
This video shows an 82 feet Viking yacht’s hull being infused last year!
Video credits: Galati Yachts