Infusion mesh on small parts, or not?

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Infusion mesh on small parts, or not?

Author	Message
wozza	wozza posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 688, Visits: 5.4K	Hi, as you say you are restricted by the moulds you have. In an ideal world you should aim for the resin to travel the shortest distance, so as you say front to back is the way forward. I would (if the mould allowed) have the spiral the full length of the front edge with the resin feed in the middle and the vac in the middle of the back edge (where the up-turn is). You could stop the mesh just short of the up-turn, so a nice simple rectangle of mesh. If you put a 50mm square of mesh and breather cloth under the vac outlet this will choke down the resin feed once in reaches the vac outlet allowing the upturn to saturate without the need for mesh. You can also leave the resin feed clamp open for a good 30-60 seconds (depending on the size of the part) after the vac is clamped off giving you a resin rich part. Because of the moulds you have you can only have a small feed spiral and the resin has a long way to travel. Even with mesh I would think it was a pretty slow infusion. Regards Warren Carbon Copies Ltd Edited 12 Years Ago by wozza
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carbonfibreworks	carbonfibreworks posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 292, Visits: 4.5K	Hi All First off let me ask for forgiveness for my truly horrendous IT skills in regards to the image below . The green section is the infusion mesh and the white line on the right is the resin feed spiral, i also had a spiral on the vac side also. Peel ply was used and i had four layers of carbon with no leaks in the bag and pulling full vacuum. The component below the mould is one of several i have made using these moulds and infusion with mesh over the whole component. I know the mould is far from ideal due to the size of the flanges but as stated i have used these moulds without any issues. I have think the answer is going to be don't infuse from right to left and go from top to bottom if using the no mesh method but look forward to the replies, every day is a school day Edited 12 Years Ago by Bartonphoenix750
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wozza	wozza posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 688, Visits: 5.4K	What I have found works, especially on say a 90 degree internal bend with a tight radius is to mark the mesh with a pen. Then fold the mesh back on itself along that line creating a tight crease in the mesh. I sometimes also stop the mesh just short of the problem area, and then continue with the mesh after that. This does increase lay-up time, and for me that means less profit That is why I use the no mesh technique on some parts. You can also substitute the mesh for small pieces of soric (on top of the peel ply) in problem areas as this acts as a flow medium and conforms to complex shapes well. Hope that helps. Regards Warren Carbon Copies Ltd Edited 12 Years Ago by wozza
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prsw	prsw posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 112, Visits: 1K	This is turning in to a good thread, and I think I know the solution to a problem I had on a complex part, I had mesh on a tight corner and got semi-dry fibres / bridging there. Thanks Warren. http://motoform.blogspot.se
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carbonfibreworks	carbonfibreworks posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 292, Visits: 4.5K	wozza (27/04/2013) What was your infusion path? Where and how long was the infusion spiral and mesh? What temp/viscosity was the resin? All these have a big effect on the outcome Regards Warren Hi Warren No doubt it can be done with the right combination of factors, i will be making a new guard on Sunday and will take a few images and place them on this thread . Regards Chris
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wozza	wozza posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 688, Visits: 5.4K	What was your infusion path? Where and how long was the infusion spiral and mesh? What temp/viscosity was the resin? All these have a big effect on the outcome Regards Warren Carbon Copies Ltd
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carbonfibreworks	carbonfibreworks posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 292, Visits: 4.5K	Hi Warren I did all of this except the breather part and placed mesh under the inlet and vac side, when i removed the uncompleted part from the mould the part that been infused had an excellent finish but the rest Chris Edited 12 Years Ago by Bartonphoenix750
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wozza	wozza posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 688, Visits: 5.4K	Hi Fred, for me it is not about the cost. On some small parts with recesses and tight angles the mesh can cause bridging, it is simply too stiff to follow the form. I use this method on a regular basis and if done correctly it does work. Regards Warren Carbon Copies Ltd
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fgayford	fgayford posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 433, Visits: 1.2K	Don't even think about it. Use mesh. I tested what you are about to do. It failed. How much would you save by not using mesh? Its the cheapest part of infusion. Fred
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wozza	wozza posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 688, Visits: 5.4K	Chris, the mesh has to run the full length of the spiral and you need some mesh under the vac outlet. A piece of breather cloth under the vac outlet also helps as a choke. Standing the resin pot in some warm water also helps, this also helps to remove any small air bubbles from the resin. Also really stretch the spiral tube before you tape it down. Regards Warren Carbon Copies Ltd Edited 12 Years Ago by wozza
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