Here is a pic of my first part. Not terrible but not useable. I think the biggest problem with the part being useable was the fact that I tried to take it out too soon.

I think the biggest issue I am having is putting the bagging material with pleats on the molds. I have no problems getting the bags to seal I just need to learn how to get the bag to finish nicely at the last corner or down the last side. I always seem to have not enough bag to put the size pleat I wanted to or I get to the last bit and I have too much bag left over and I can't get the bag to lay flat with out a mini pleat. It is real frustrating and hard to deal with since at this point you dont have alot of maneuverability.

Any sugestions?

Thanks,  Dennis

When i take the bag off i try and save the bag tape ,

Then on my next bag job i usually have a small pleat like you so i just make a big pyramid of tape and

pull some of the bag back up put the pyramid in and put the bag over and squash it down  this takes up all

the pleat,

If you get my drift LOL

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for the picture. Yes, I'm afraid it's classic 'bridging' that you've got going on there. At the very least the bag has bridged considerably around the tighter corners of your moulding. It looks like the reinforcement has done the same (which is normally the way it goes) so that both the bag and the fabric 'short cut' across the corner leaving the resin to fill the quite large cavity that this leaves which is why it looks so resin rich in all those corners.

If you can see bridging (which you surely would have been able to do on this infusion before you ran it) then don't continue. A part is never going to be good if the reinforcement and bag are not in intimate contact with the mould surface.

It really is of key importance to have much more bag than you could ever imagine needing! - To do this, lots of pleats are required when bagging to the tool (i.e. not envelope bagging). It does take a little practice but you should find that if you have the same number and same length of pleats opposite each other that it will all come together nicely at the end without an over-run or under-run of film. It is important to have the same number and same length pleats all opposite though, an uneven number on each 'face' will certainly result in a messy bit at the end.

I hope this helps,

Matt

Matt Statham
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Sales

Thanks for the  replies,  I did remake this part and it came out much better but still not perfect. I think the second one will be useable once it is trimmed 98% of any issues will be gone. The biggest issue with this part is around the tight radius on the outside of the raised area in the middle. I cant seem to get the CF to fit tight to the mold. Actually I think the issue is with the infusion mesh. The mesh doesn't seem to contour very nicely. Should I be cutting this into multiple pieces? Any tips for the infusion mesh?

Thanks, Dennis

Hi Dennis,

Yes, definately cut the mesh if you're having problems getting it to conform to the mould. You can also leave some areas without any mesh at all if it helps. The resin flow will slow down in these areas but overall this is not likely to be a problem.

--Matt

Matt Statham
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Sales