Kwak, MMKwakRobinson, PPRobinsonBismarck, AABismarckWise, RRWise2016-09-152015-04-182016-09-152015-04-18Composites Part A - Applied Science and Manufacturing, 2015, 75, pp.18-271359-835Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/40174Microwave heating has several major advantages over conventional conductive heating when used to cure carbon–epoxy composites, especially in speed of processing. Despite this and many other well-known advantages, microwave heating of carbon–epoxy composites has not taken off in industry, or even academia, due to the problems associated with microwave energy distribution, arcing, tool design and (ultimately) part quality and consistency, thus leading to a large scepticism regarding the technique/technology for heating such type of materials. This paper presents some evidence which suggests that with the correct hardware and operating procedure/methodology, consistent and high quality carbon–epoxy laminates can be produced, with the possibility of scaling up the process, as demonstrated by the micro- and macro-scale mechanical test results. Additionally, the author proposes a methodology to practically measure the maximum microwave penetration depth of a carbon–epoxy composite material.© 2015 Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Science & TechnologyTechnologyEngineering, ManufacturingMaterials Science, CompositesEngineeringMaterials SciencePolymer-matrix composites (PMCs)Mechanical propertiesInterface/interphaseCureTHERMAL CURERESINSPOLYMERSMaterials0912 Materials Engineering0913 Mechanical Engineering0901 Aerospace EngineeringJournal Articlehttps://www.dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2015.04.007