Hi, issue taking from mould

Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

Back

Hi, issue taking from mould

Author	Message
Andy	A Andy posted 7 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
A Group: Forum Members Posts: 2, Visits: 37	Hi, I've having issues with bridging when trying to do a 5mm thick carbon/kevlar shell for a robot project of mine, im a machinist and have done fibreglass moulds for customers before but never a carbon fibre one, i think i rushed into machining the mould has i thought i would be able to wet lay carbon fibre sheet and resin like fiberglass, i've had 2 failed attempts trying to wet lay with struggling to get the fabric into all the contours with trying to get a quite thick wall thickness, i phoned easy and they said resin infusion is the way to go with using a tack spray to hold the fabric is place until the vacuum and resin is in, i purchased the kit and have tried the infusion but i think i haven't left enough flange around the base to have excess fabric pull its way down has i've had a better finish but still bridging/not taking the full shape, could this be the issue?, i can machine another mould with a 50mm flange around rather than the 25mm i have at the moment Thanks Andy
	Reply Like 2
Reply
Steve Broad	Steve Broad posted 7 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 408, Visits: 4.1K	+x Andy - 8/5/2018 2:03:47 PM Hi, I've having issues with bridging when trying to do a 5mm thick carbon/kevlar shell for a robot project of mine, im a machinist and have done fibreglass moulds for customers before but never a carbon fibre one, i think i rushed into machining the mould has i thought i would be able to wet lay carbon fibre sheet and resin like fiberglass, i've had 2 failed attempts trying to wet lay with struggling to get the fabric into all the contours with trying to get a quite thick wall thickness, i phoned easy and they said resin infusion is the way to go with using a tack spray to hold the fabric is place until the vacuum and resin is in, i purchased the kit and have tried the infusion but i think i haven't left enough flange around the base to have excess fabric pull its way down has i've had a better finish but still bridging/not taking the full shape, could this be the issue?, i can machine another mould with a 50mm flange around rather than the 25mm i have at the moment Thanks Andy If you haven't got the fabric into the grooves before applying vacuum, the fabric won't be pulled into them when vacuum is applied. The vacuum will squeeze the carbon on to the high points, preventing it from moving down into the grooves. You have to get the cloth into them prior to vacuum being applied. I know that I am biased :-), but this looks like a job for prepeg to me. All the time in the world to work the fabric into the mould (well, at least 30 days :-) ) then a couple of hours at gas mark 7 in a second hand domestic oven and job done. However, I can't tell how big the mould is and this will dictate whether you can find an oven big enough. Edited 7 Years Ago by Steve Broad
	Reply Like 2