Flexible composite: Glass Fibre + Silicone Rubber ?

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Flexible composite: Glass Fibre + Silicone Rubber ?

Author	Message
jan.kadlec	jan.kadlec posted 9 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2, Visits: 11	Hi, does anyone have experience with building flexible composite that would be airtight, fold-able, UV resistant and strong? Perhaps silicone with fibreglass reinforcement? The result would remind of coated fabrics (e.g. tarpaulin). The advantage is that the final product could be shaped rather than a flat sheet. Is there a low viscosity silicone that would penetrate the fabric and cure to some Shore A 30 hardness? Can it be combined this way? Will repeated folding break the fibres and deteriorate the quality over time? Any experience and ideas are very appreciated. Thank you! Tags fibreglass flexible composite impregnated fabric silicone
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Warren (Staff)	Warren (Staff) posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Administrators Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 7.9K	The best options we have for this would be our CS2 Condensation Cure Silicone Rubber or our EF80 Flexible Epoxy Resin. The CS2 would be a closest match for hardness at Shore A 24. However the silicone would wear eventually especially if the fabric is folded in the same place. The silicone has a fairly high viscosity but does flow well so should wet out the material. The EF80 although technically much harder, is also very flexible and may well be more durable in the long run. The EF80 is much thinner than the silicone and as such is more suitable for wetting out fabric. in terms of holding shape, the more layers of material, the more naturally stiff it will become. You would need some experimentation to see the right number of layers for the proposed shape and use. However, like other moulded composites, although the part is flexible, it would be hard to permenently bend it into another shape. A description of what you are making would help to determine if this is a possibility and which of the products is best suited for the job. Warren Penalver Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant Tags EF80 Epoxy Flexible Silicone
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jan.kadlec	jan.kadlec posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2, Visits: 11	Hi Warren, thank you very much for the information. I will order the materials and do some test. Cheers, Jan
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Dravis	Dravis posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 592, Visits: 1.9K	Repeated bending over a small radius will eventually break glass and Carbon fibres ... I have made very durable hinges using Kevlar and Diolen as reinforcement, and EC EF80 Flexible Resin. In construction I made sure to have a decent minimum radius (around 10 mm ) when the hinge is closed. If you construct a complex shape that requires folding it at the same places many times, then make the "designated folding areas" from Kevlar and or Diolen. Then the "fixed areas" that only need to be flexible, but not folded can be made from CF- Good Luck! "Sapere Aude"... Dare to KNOW! The written word is the only truly efficient vehicle for transmitting a complex concept from mind to mind... 103% of all people do not understand statistics... Do not adjust our mind, theres a fault in reality :-)
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