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Resin Infusion of carbon fiber with balsa core - any experience?
Resin Infusion of carbon fiber with balsa core - any experience?
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Resin Infusion of carbon fiber with balsa core - any experience?
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John Hansen
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John Hansen
posted 6 Years Ago
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Does anyone have hands on experience doing resin infusion of carbon fiber with a balsa end grain core. In my research on the methods, I find statements of vendors that indicate balsa end grain can be fabricated as a core between carbon fiber this way but at this time, actual evidence or instructions by someone experienced doing this still eludes me. Does anyone know anyone what has done it (successfully), or is it mere hyperbole by the vendors of the balsa core material? FYI, I have written to one notable vendor with no response. I have also done a patent search and with one notable exception there are no patents that shed light on the process of sealing the end grain. The referenced patent simply says
"
seal the end grain".
But how to seal it and with what to seal it? And how much weight is added to the balsa when it is sealed? Is this all a secret?
Looking for replies with experience.... no theories or conjecture, please.
A Lifelong Learner
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6 Years Ago by
John Hansen
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Resin Infusion of carbon fiber with balsa core - any experience?
HansenJC
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6 Years Ago
Done it plenty times on kiteboards, furniture and other projects. works very well, but even after sealing it will soak up a lot of resin. The mechanical properties are extremely high tho. this is why...
SleepingAwake
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6 Years Ago
Easy composites has a video of it using wood strips in their longboard video with flax if I'm correct ;) If you want to be sure, make a small 25cm x 25cm test plate and you'll be able to calculate ho...
matthieutje65
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6 Years Ago
Matthieu, Thank you for your input. I have viewed the video tutorial that you mention and it really is an interesting process. My search is for videos that use end grain balsa between carbon fiber...
HansenJC
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6 Years Ago
If you are searching for the lightest possible solution, balsa wood is not what you are looking for. The problem with balsa is that it is highly inconsistent in it's propertys. If you want the very.....
oekmont
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6 Years Ago
@oekmont,Thank you. There are many lines of research I am pursuing. And I will be looking at rohacell along with others to see if they are strong enough. But my curiosity regarding end grain balsa is...
HansenJC
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6 Years Ago
I think the main reasons why balsa isn't that popular are the heavier weight compared to foams, the inconsistency, the soaking propertys and the lack of easy forming methods. Most foams can be brough...
oekmont
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6 Years Ago
I'm following Eokmont on this
matthieutje65
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6 Years Ago
Oekmont, Let's talk about soaking properties. I simply cannot find data that tells me how much it soaks up and how to seal it to prevent the soaking. I have read descriptions of how to deal with it b...
HansenJC
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6 Years Ago
That's the core of the problem. You will not find much data for the resin uptake, because it varies more than 100%. No two pieces are the same. I have had balsa, wich was almost like birch, and I had...
oekmont
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6 Years Ago
Oekmont There are many different vendors out there. Some of them specify the density of the end grain balsa and sell a variety of densities. And some vendors will write things like:"density may vary....
HansenJC
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6 Years Ago
@oekmont, When you say: " I have had balsa, which was almost like birch, and I had balsa, which was like xps foam" what are your sources for the balsa? I see claims of suppliers that their balsa i...
HansenJC
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6 Years Ago
While i agree on many things said here, like that balsa can be hard to machine and resin uptake is hard to control in infusion, i would strongly disagree that the mechanical properties of foams are.....
SleepingAwake
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6 Years Ago
Thank you Lester. What have you created with End Grain Balsa? Have you seen any links to destructiuve testing of CF with balsa core? The question of need for strength is not the same for every...
HansenJC
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6 Years Ago
Lester, Thank you for your input. Have you seen any specific formulas (ratios of resin to microballoons) that would seal the end grain and result in the lowest weight? NOTE, it must still provide...
HansenJC
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6 Years Ago
I absolutely agree with that (although there are foams wich top that numbers). But this shear strength and compression strength only really comes into account for things that deal with serious forces...
oekmont
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6 Years Ago
Serious question - which foam tops that? They don't even get close to those numbers according to my understanding. Rohacell is one of the very best foams out there. I think for sport applications...
SleepingAwake
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6 Years Ago
The fibre reinforced airex versions. Strange, especially for kiteboards I would see foam far in front in terms of performance. Even bow limbs are made with foam core. And this is an application where...
oekmont
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6 Years Ago
This is what I am telling you the whole time. When little sandwich composite things crash, they are not getting damaged because the pressure strength or the shear strength of the core material is...
oekmont
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6 Years Ago
I understand that the optimum skin/core design would strike a balance between the shear strength of the core and the tensile strength of the skin. I will have to do some in-use destructive testing to...
HansenJC
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6 Years Ago
A stronger core material doesn't result in greater stiffness. For that, you have to increase the stiffness of the skin or tge thickness of the core.
oekmont
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6 Years Ago
I am also a balsa hater. Being this natural material it has these mentioned variations and is typically heavier. You can use a thicker foam for greater stiffness and still be lighter than Balsa. The...
Fasta
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6 Years Ago
I have done balsa infusion/wet lay setups for my laminate/material library. With infusion grooves and holes, like solid foam infusion preparation. I used polyurethane coupling spay coat to seal the.....
oekmont
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6 Years Ago
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