Resin infusion of a double sided chair

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Resin infusion of a double sided chair - issues with one side

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deagrateful	deagrateful posted 11 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 11, Visits: 96	Hi guys, I'm a furniture designer and after doing a few infusions (and then doing a great 3 day course @ easy composites) I'm absolutely hooked on composites. The possibilities in my field are endless and are barely being touched upon. I'm currently working on a chair design which is a continuous curve and is usable in two different seating positions (reclined and social). The pattern (plug?) is made and all polished up ready for an infusion and I have an exact 1:6 scale replica for which I've been using to create the test models. I'm having issues with achieving a decent surface quality on the outside face. I should mention that the final finish I am after on the outside face is the textured matt surface that peel ply leaves. This means that sanding isn't an option. The inside face is glossy. All layers are securely tacked into place with epoxy spray adhesive. The first test had the following layers (working from the inside out): pattern surface > 3 layers of 200gsm 2/2 twill carbon > peel ply > easy flow mesh > vac bag This resulted in a thickness of 0.7mm. The inside face was perfect and the outside was a little bumpy. The second test was closer to the final desired thickness of 5mm and had the following players (from inside out again) pattern surface > 1 x 200gsm 2/2 carbon > 1 x 650 gsm 2/2 carbon > 1 x 2mm lantor soric > 2 x 200gsm 2/2 carbon > peel ply (for finish effect) > vac bag This resulted in a thickness of 3.5mm. The inside face was again perfect but the outside had a very undulated finish with light bunching. The infusion spiral and connectors left deep marks but on the actual pattern this won't be a problem as I have included wide flanges and they will be placed to the sides. This finish isn't even good enough for sanding and then skinning over with a light weave... I can replace the Lantor Soric with a few layers of 650gms carbon which should give me a slightly better finish I guess... But this would reintroduce infusion mesh and would leave different marks. So my question is how can I get a nice level and flat peel ply finish on the outside face? I'm pretty much up for trying anything at this point! If this isn't at all possible, what other options do I have? (an outside gloss face wouldn't be durable enough for a chair). Any help would be extremely appreciated as I'm tearing my hair out at the moment! Pics below: chair test pics Tags infusion two smooth faces
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wozza	wozza posted 11 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 688, Visits: 5.4K	deagrateful (17/10/2014) Warren, luckily I have already made the full size pattern oversized on the width (by about 70mm) so hopefully that will be enough to run the lines as you've suggested and still have the desired chair width. Unfortunately there isn't a taper so I will be replying on a happy release after driving some air wedges in the gaps! If for some reason the vac outlets had to be placed on the side rather than the face, would it make sense to add a bit of breather fabric over the edge (as well as the peel ply) to try and avoid the lock off? I bought some MTI hose on a whim a few weeks ago (I was foreseeing possible difficulty with this infusion and thought it may have some use), could this possibly be a situation where careful resin uptake calculations and a hose that lets only the air through could come in handy some how? Finally (so sorry to keep bombarding you with questions!), would you recommend the regular infusion mesh, or the easy flow mesh that I've been using thus far? I'd love to see some pictures of your chess boards if you have any! Do you have a website? Mine is: krislamba.com Many thanks once again Kris Hi Kris, as long as you have a decent air path to the laminate you should be fine. Breather is great for that, I always put some under the vac outlets anyway. It acts as a choke slowing the resin flow, stopping expensive resin being dumped into the catch pot. I've tried the MTI hose, I know some people swear by it put personally I didn't see any great benefits. I only used to use the easy mesh for complex parts with deep recesses etc, I now use it all the time. No real difference in infusion rates I just find it easier to work with. It can be more awkward to remove from the laminate as it's not as stiff as the standard mesh after the resin has cured. It's also less likely to puncture the bag like the standard mesh can. Just about to go away for the weekend so a bit pushed for time, will find and post some pics of the chess board early next week. Regards Warren Carbon Copies Ltd Edited 11 Years Ago by wozza
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Resin infusion of a double sided chair - issues with one side

deagrateful - 11 Years Ago

Firstly - awesome design, I love it! The problem you are having is creases / uneveness in the peel...

FLD - 11 Years Ago

Missed this, nice design ;) as FLD mentioned, some are creased from the peelply, others to me look...

ChrisR - 11 Years Ago

Have to agree, looks like it's way too resin rich. So much so that the bag has gone very slack. That...

wozza - 11 Years Ago

Thanks for taking the time out to help me with this guys, your advice is absolutely invaluable....

deagrateful - 11 Years Ago

No apologies needed its all part of the learning curve :) not an easy part for your first go. Soric...

wozza - 11 Years Ago

Hi Warren, that all makes sense, I hadn't realised that it was possible to over infuse by that much...

deagrateful - 11 Years Ago

My favourite thing about infusion is its possible to very accurately calculate your resin...

Hanaldo - 11 Years Ago

Did quite a bit of head scratching over this last night so please excuse the long reply :) I would...

wozza - 11 Years Ago

Warren, luckily I have already made the full size pattern oversized on the width (by about 70mm) so...

deagrateful - 11 Years Ago

[quote][b]deagrateful (17/10/2014)[/b][hr]Warren, luckily I have already made the full size pattern...

wozza - 11 Years Ago

Sorry not the best of pictures but hopefully gives an idea of soda blasting. Warren

wozza - 11 Years Ago

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Resin infusion of a double sided chair - issues with one side

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