How to proceed with infusion, tricky mould


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Ville
V
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Hello

Newbie here

I did two infusions with this mould made with the starter kit, totally failed



The boxed shape corners were not completely pressed in by vacuum, I should have known that. Had too much epoxy in the corners and dry points..
I did try infu-tac, but gave up on it because I mainly messed up and and tore the fabric, messy stuff.. Should I glue the center first and move towards the corners with the glue, or glue in corners only?


Then should I get gelcoat along with infu-tac, as it would leave a cloudy finish? Should I use it post-production or spray in the mold, and does it then work like glue?
Or making my own epoxy tack spray. But am I likely to mess it up? 100:5 epoxy/hardener maybe

So many questions, more to come.

This a good setup for infusion? I used compoflex. Would normal infusion mesh and peel ply be better?



And I had troubles not getting a perfect vacuum. I could not find any leaks but air was getting in from somewhere. There is some damage on the mould caused by removing the pattern, and sanding too much. Think I need to check that the mould is not leaking too.

How should I proceed next time with the infusion. Carefully cutting the fabric in the corners and using glue with other layers also?

Thanks in advance
Ville

edit: pics in google photos, photobucket sucks
https://photos.app.goo.gl/IwY2Fai8QMmB4FV13
Edited 8 Years Ago by Ville
MarkMK
MarkMK
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Hi

I would certainly recommend cutting sections of fabric to cover the sides of your mould with, separate from the main horizontal piece. Give the fabric a mist of spray tack before cutting to give you nice sharp cuts. A roller cutter works well for this (Olfa)

Give the surface side of the fabric another mist of spray tack before carefully placing onto your mould sides. For ease of lay-up, it might be a good idea to lay-in separate pieces for each side of the mould, unless you're confident with being able to cut each section to the right size. Once you've got one or two pieces in, you can likely overlap the remaining pieces

The main horizontal piece of fabric can then be cut slightly oversize and allowed to overlap the vertical sections a little. Again, a mist of spray tack will help it stay in position well. Carefully smooth it into the mould from the centre and then into the corners.

It is possible that you're mould might have become porous, if you've lost a little of the surface gelcoat, but it's more likely that you've just got a leak in the bag somewhere. It's sometimes good to try and rely on less pleats that are of a bigger size, which might reduce the possible sources of leaks in your bag.

If you've gone around your bag pressing all of the tape against the mould and still find that you're getting a leak, though, (including around your entry/exit lines) you might want to consider envelope bagging it instead

This might be preferable if you're only looking for a one-off part and don't intend making loads of part from the mould

Be prepared for a tough job getting the final part out of your mould also, as it looks like you've dealing with some quite steep parallel sides there



Ville
V
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Thanks. I wonder why I was planning on using only a single piece, cutting separate pieces each side sounds a lot easier. And it will do a better job with my skills.

I have a roller and ec-cutter available. I'll try spray-tack before cutting. Top tip.

And I'll test if the mould holds vacuum with just bagging film, and no pleats. I'm looking to make a few pieces. It will be a batterybox for an ebike, eventually.

I got one part nicely out of the mould. But it was so bad I didn't take pictures of it yet, hehe.


GO

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