Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

First Mould with epoxy mould kit

http://www.talkcomposites.com/Topic17317.aspx

By scottracing - 5/23/2015 5:48:57 PM

Thought I would share some pics of my first use of the epoxy mould kit from EC. Ive come from a background of motorsport and aerospace using expensive materials and tools so its good to get my hands dirty with something that anybody can pick up and make there own moulds.

Firstly its a comprehensive kit, I went for the big kit as I have a few moulds to make and I was pleased that it comes with all the wax/pva,gelcoat and of course 2 part epoxy paste in a nice and easy to carry tub.

I made some wet lay carbon sheet last week using the good old glass method and as the glass had been released, it would be a shame not to use it for my first mould, which is for my friend as he wants some new mirrors for his super seven but using a nice coloured pre-preg.

The materials are pretty easy to use and the gelcoat is a great colour making it easy to see where you haven't placed any material. Mixing up the epoxy paste was pretty simple and not that messy if you use a plastic bag and the provided gloves.
Looking forward to seeing the results on monday as I done it at work as its always nice and warm Smile
By Mikebike - 7/29/2015 9:49:31 PM


Hi, I'm reading about your split moulds with interest. Just about over the same period, I've been making moulds to make some motorbike parts, a rear hugger and some heel guards.

My first hugger mould had some mechanical lock, but I was able to get the part free, though damaged the mould so remade it. In the second mould, you can see that I moulded in some ejector screws. In the pic then sddrews are in the wrong side of the mould. You simply wind them in and the part pops out. The cool part was moulding the nuts into the mould.

I'm now on my fifth pull from the mould using wet lay up. It's quite a complex bit with loads of corners and curves, so getting a bubble free part is nearly impossible, so I'm just moving to vac bagging next.

With you mirrors, I'm interested in the split mould because I'll be making wing mirrors for my bike too, which I guess will have to be split, maybe even three ways.

Keep posting the photos. Really cool stuff, hey?