AbstractThe curing reaction of thermosetting polymers is accompanied by exothermal heat which has been measured with a differential scanning calorimeter. The Perkin‐Elmer DSC‐1 B was used for recording the curing behavior of a diallyl phthalate molding compound and two unsaturated polyester molding compounds. The residual heat of reaction has also been determined by a dynamic DSC scan of partly cured products made at various mold temperatures and curing times. It was thus possible to calculate the degree of curing and to dictate the optimum processing conditions for the indicated molding compounds. The interpretation of results leads to the conclusions that the DSC can be used to set specifications and to perform quality control for the molding compounds and that the most significant processing parameter is mold temperat