Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

CNC Machined Polyurethane Foam Sealing

http://www.talkcomposites.com/Topic34626.aspx

By JLiang - 1/19/2020 3:41:12 AM

Hello, 

I'm part of a student design team looking to make kevlar enclosures from a negative mould. I've done work in the past with carbon fibre in an MDF mould, which I sealed with gelcoat. However, gelcoat was a huge pain to work with, didn't sand well, poor surface finish, etc.

This time I'm looking to use either aluminium or closed-cell polyurethane foam, which I will be machining on a CNC router. What sort of mould release agents should I use? Is just a wax and some PVA ok? Are there better mould materials to use? These are very low volume, room-temperature VARTM process moulds, 2-3 pulls max so I'm not concerned about long term durability, just ease of machinability and low price. The parts are also very small, largest is about 150x125x54mm. 

Thanks for your help!
By explorecomposites - 2/6/2020 9:31:52 PM

 
allankn - 2/5/2020 8:57:13 PM
Chris, just checked out your site and your videos. What a gem!Watch the whole series building the Hyperloop shell. Great!Definitely a subscriber.-Allan

Thanks Allan!  Great to hear that it is helpful.  It's only the beginning, but I'm having lots of fun doing it!