Making mould for complex shaped patter

Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

Back

Making mould for complex shaped patter

Author	Message
muxiamandy	muxiamandy posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 8, Visits: 80	The blade is 350 mm by 150 mm and it tapers from 40 mm to 5 mm, so yeah, you right, it will be tight. Sorry if I sound thick but Silicone mandrel? how? Whenever you can about the pictures mate, I am already very appreciative of all the help.
	Reply Like 3
Hanaldo	Hanaldo posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 28K	A silicone mandrel is a nifty tool to use when you're wet laying. Basically you need your mould first, assembled. Then you can cast your mandrel by pouring silicone into the mould, filling it to the point you need. You can then use this mandrel to place pressure on complex shapes when you're laying up. What gets a little bit tricky is that your laminate will have some thickness as well, which you need to take into account with your mandrel so that everything still fits. Generally I compensate for this by placing a couple layers of vacuum film on the mould surface before casting the mandrel, which gives the final piece a bit of clearance. Depends how thick you want your laminate to be though.
	Reply Like 3
muxiamandy	muxiamandy posted 10 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 8, Visits: 80	Hanaldo, sorry for asking, any chance for those sketches? I think I got my blade split line correct; not too sure about the base. Does anyone have a problem when trying to get a smooth surface for their patterns after putting on primers and doing all the sanding? By touch, my surface finish seem fine, all smooth; however, I can still see very fine lines on the pattern even after using polishine from EC. Has anyone had the same problem? I have gone up to 1200 g sanding paper.
	Reply Like 2