Wet Infusion or Prepreg?


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Charles Woo
Charles Woo
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I had these parts made for a project I am working on and the manufacturer claims they are 'autoclave dry carbon', which should mean pre-preg, but to my untrained eye it looks like regular vacuum bagged wet infusion. There are tiny bubbles along the edges and the outer clear resin layer seems thicker than what I would expect a pre-preg.

Are there any carbon experts out there that can help me identify what process they used to make these parts?

       
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Hanaldo
Hanaldo
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You really shouldn't be able to tell the difference between an infused part and a prepreg part just by looking at them. Sometimes theres a couple of tells, but generally speaking - exactly the same visually. Certainly shouldn't have any issues keeping the weave straight with infusion.
Jason B
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On eBay I’ve seen many carbon parts where the pattern on carbon, whether going left or right isn’t straight as an arrow. I’d assume this would have to be infusion?
MarkMK
MarkMK
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Most likely wet-lay, as it's difficult to keep the weave pattern looking straight when applying resin by hand. There's no reason why the pattern shouldn't be completely straight when infusing.  

As Hanaldo said, assuming that infused parts haven't been made with an in-mould coating, the only obvious way of telling the difference between those and pre-preg parts would be to look at the 'B' side for evidence of the different release film/fabrics that are commonly used

The OP's parts certainly seem to be pre-preg ones, judging by the appearance of the 'B' side




Hanaldo
Hanaldo
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Jason B - 1/5/2020 3:40:00 PM
On eBay I’ve seen many carbon parts where the pattern on carbon, whether going left or right isn’t straight as an arrow. I’d assume this would have to be infusion?

Parts made in Chinese factories just aren't good quality in general, more likely to be the result of a hurried layup than a result of the process. 

Of course complex parts with extreme geometry will test both the skills of the laminator as well as the material conformability, however the parts the OP posted are very straight forward and I would expect a straight weave even with wet-laid parts.

GO

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Charles Woo - 6 Years Ago
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