I'm having a bit of a hard time conceptualizing how I would go about creating a mould for making a one-piece carbon fiber louver panel such as the one I have pictured.  

The flange around the perimeter is easy enough, but I can't quite reason how I would work out the open transition between the vane edges without making a solid transition then cutting out the opening.

Does anyone have a better idea for handling the louver vanes in a way that wouldn't require cutting out large pieces of the part during postprocess?

...has anyone made composite louvers before? What was your mold process?

Thanks everybody.

When you make the pattern, you will need to block the vents, mould off it thus giving a mould with no vent holes in it.

You create the vent holes when you lay up the fabric. In simple terms you do not lay fabric over the vent hole areas except around the very edge so you have something to trim. You want a small bit to trim as no matter how neat you are, the carbon raw edge is always a bit rough. 

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant

     

I made something similar for e46 m3 gtr vents. Making CF part is simple but the finishing is a bit frustrating......a lot of precision cutting and triming (one wrong move and you can bin the part).