Wet Infusion or Prepreg?

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Wet Infusion or Prepreg?

Wet Infusion or Prepreg?

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Charles Woo	Charles Woo posted 6 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 5, Visits: 20	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 posted 5 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 28K	+x 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.
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Wet Infusion or Prepreg?

Charles Woo - 6 Years Ago

I would say it doesn't matter way process is used. What matters is if you are pleased with the parts or not. Optically and physically. However, watching the perfectly straight diagonals I would...

oekmont - 6 Years Ago

Thanks for the reply. I am concerned about the bubbling and the overall weight. Also prepreg was considerably more expensive than wet infusion. So I want to know I am getting what I paid for. Have yo...

Charles Woo - 6 Years Ago

Are we talking about infusion or about vacuum bagged parts? As I said above, I doubt the parts are vacuum bagged wet layup parts. Infusion is a different thing. from the pictures I would say, that.....

oekmont - 6 Years Ago

So you are saying, if it was infusion, the top clear layer would not look as thick. A resin rich surface prepreg can have enough excess resin to mimic the look of having gloss gelcoat and may also...

Charles Woo - 6 Years Ago

Is the porosity on the outside? Can you get in the white spots with a needle? If so, it can be gelcoat. Gelcoat would be smooth on the outside. The little bubbles would be under the gelcoat.

oekmont - 6 Years Ago

I get what you are saying. If there was gel coat, the bubbles would be under it. The gel coat is already hard so the bubbles won't be on the outer surface. From what I can see the bubbles are mostly....

Charles Woo - 6 Years Ago

Agreed with Oek. You’d see the flow media marks on the back if it was resin infusion.You can see the release film marks on the back surface from traditional bagging with breather cloth. Looks like ...

JasonFL - 6 Years Ago

Thanks for your help guys. I really appreciate it.Learned a lot. I didn’t know that prepreg could be so resin rich.

Charles Woo - 6 Years Ago

Look up debulking during an autoclave layup. Slowly removes excess resin and air over time to ensure the plys stay uniform and the desired resin to weight ratio is hit.

JasonFL - 6 Years Ago

Those parts look good. With infusion the carbon is rarely straight as an arrow like your parts. That looks prepreg. Am I right?

Jason B - 5 Years Ago

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.....

Hanaldo - 5 Years Ago

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?

Jason B - 5 Years Ago

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...

MarkMK - 5 Years Ago

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....

Hanaldo - 5 Years Ago

Would say this is prepreg but this could be a "self made" prepreg as well. By this I mean they wetted out a piece of carbonfiber with resin and placed it in the mould, then bagged. If you want to be...

matthieutje65 - 5 Years Ago

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