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.

That "forged" carbon effect has come out well.

Depending on how the vents are cut, you can usually make it all as a one piece mould as well. We did a pair of similar vent moulds using our high temperature putty for OOA pre-preg.  You  can see the video tutorial here: Hand Laminating a High Temperature Mould

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant