Hi,

I am currently making carbon fibre samples of different layers and using different methods.
I have managed to get a really good surface finish with hand lay-up but not with infusion (photo attached).
I saw someone post a similar question on the forum but he was using unidirectional so our problem might be different.



Following the videos you've made for infusion, the surface finish of all may samples are almost entirely dry as if there wasn't enough resin.
You've suggested to reduced the flow speed to allow the resin to get everywhere which I will try very soon.
However, my samples are pretty small (210x160mm) and I'm worried that it won't be enough.
Could the infusion spiral  be completely removed to allow a slower flow process ?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks,
Philippine

Ok now that i see the setup it's pretty clear - cut the flow mesh short of the an inch short of the end of the fabric. The flow in the mesh is very good, in the much more compact carbon fibre not so much. It therefore takes some time to impregnate the fabric stack vertically through all the layers. when cutting the flow mesh short of the end you will force the resin to flow through the fabric rather than just flowing through the flow mesh and out of the vacuum line on the other end while trapping residual air underneath.

When having no flow mesh at all the infusion speed is so slow that capillary effects start to take over and you do not get a very reliable result either.

and another detail which i do not think is critical in this part, but a good habit to take is to have the resin inlet on one corner and pull the vacuum from the opposite corner. As the resin is slightly arching from the entry point the corners in your layup are the last areas which are not impregnated and you should pull the vacuum in those two spots. Placing both lines in a corner is the easier solution.