Hello all, I want to layup my airfoil in fiberglass without vacuum bagging (budget not approved), can i just apply the resin and fiber glass and let it airdry. My concern is the airfoil shape itself and how i can get the fiberglass to stay attached while drying.
Hi everyone,
I'm a mechanical engineer, but I have very little hands-on experience with composite materials.
At the company I work for, we're currently in the R&D phase of a project where we're considering using fiberglass and carbon fiber composites for some structural parts. Since this is a new area for me, I'd like to build a solid foundation rather than just follow YouTube tutorials.
I'm looking for books (or other high-quality resources) that cover topics such as:
Someone recommended Composite Materials: Science and Engineering by Krishan K. Chawla. Is it a good book to start with for someone in my situation, or would you recommend something else instead?
I'm not necessarily looking for a highly mathematical textbook (although I'm fine with some theory). I'd prefer something that combines engineering fundamentals with practical manufacturing knowledge.
What would you recommend if you were starting from scratch but wanted to reach a professional engineering level?
Thanks in advance!
Hi,
My name is Stefan and with one of my friends I have built a platform for creating composite laminates. We integrated AI for the composite suggestions.
We also integrated FEM analysis and standards tests
We want to have people test it and give a feedback on it. All features are free to use, once you login.
The platform is https://compositelaminate.eu
Let us know what you think.
We appreciate any feedback.
Thanks,
Stefan 😁
I recently wanted to try starting doing carbon fiber parts. After studying in uni about carbon fiber I decided to try doing parts myself.
This was my first attempt. The parts were a pair of mirror caps from a leon mk4/cupra formentor. The materials I used are from the uni-mould tooling kit from easy composites. They seem to do it pretty easy, but in my case, a lot of things didn’t go as I expected. However take this as an opportunity to learn and improve.
I want you to give me your opinion and advices for my second attempt.
Major thing that went wrong:
- The part was made in ABS and it wasn’t compatible with the kit, so I had to cover them with epoxi resin and then sand them.
- I used modeling clay for filleting the edges but didn’t work well.
- When making the flanges, I think I should have put them 90 degrees to the edge of the part.
- I think I should have done a two-part split mould instead of a one piece mould, because it was so dificult to take the mirror out and it damaged the mould. Also, when making the carbon fiber part I would have been a nightmare.
Does anyone knows how to mix mwcnts in epoxy resin to produce the front sheets using vartm method.
Things I've tried
Acetone and CNT in ultrasonicator for 2 hrs.
Magnetic stirrer then Sonication.
Any tips for applying PVA ?
I wax my mould first, and then buff it and add PVA on top usually, is it overkill ? ( epoxy CF / on a PU painted mould )
If i try with a brush, it will not wet the surface, and clump together at some random places.
I tried with a rag or sponge, it does the same.
So in the end i do it with a spray gun, in a very fine mist it works, but surface finish isnt very nice its grainy.
What can i do ?
Perhaps i can do a fine mist, let it dry then spray it thick and wet on top of the 1st fine mist, maybe it will make a nice glossy layer this way ???
Lets say i wanted to make a CF welding helmet, what would be the best resin to use so it resist the UV, and also takes the heat, for ppl that weld close ( like me ) ?
Also how would i achieve the opacity required, i know it taked a few layers with different orientation to achieve full opacity with CF, perhaps fiberglass roving as the inner most layer, with a tinted resin or maybe a few coats of paint ?
(I want to keep the CF appearance on the outside )
Hi,
my plan is to use carbon fibers for my selfmade recurve bow riser. It is the first time im working with reinforcements so there are some questions.
I`ve learnd that I have to apply epoxy on the wodden core and it has to get to "tacky" stage before applying the first layer of carbon fibers.
Must it dry now before wetting it out with epoxy again and applying the next fibers? That`s how they did it in the easy composites tutorial but they proceeded with epoxy only instead of a secound layer.
The secound question is how hard is it to vaccum bag it? It was the original plan to do so for a better fiber/resin ratio. But I´ve read that it is pretty hard to get an descent result because of wrinkels caused by the bagging process.
If someone can give me some hints especially for the first point would be nice.