Epoxy Resins are the highest performance resins available. Epoxies offer high strength, low shrinkage, excellent adhesion to various substrates, effective electrical insulation, chemical and solvent resistance, and low toxicity. Epoxies are expensive than Polyester with long curing times. The viscosity of Epoxy is higher than that of Polyester and Vinylester resins.
Epoxy resins are typically formed by the reaction of compounds containing at least two active hydrogen atoms (polyphenolic compounds, diamines, amino phenols, heterocyclic imides and amides, aliphatic diols, etc.) and epichlorohydrin that has tremendous cross-linking to create a very tough and yet stiff polymer. The viscosity of Epoxy is higher than that of Polyester and Vinylester resins.
Used in boats, pipes, pressure vessel, wind turbine blades, electrical insulation, Aerospace composites etc.
The best process for producing your product depends upon the design of the product (its physical properties and dimensional tolerances), production volume and your tooling budget.
Some of the processing technologies for Polyester resins are given below.