Fun With Carbon Fiber

yeah. I did some costing on some parts a while back. And I've heard the same (similar size costing) from some vendors and friends. The prep time is nearly the same, and the parts will turn out nearly the same. but the cost starts out about 50% more on smaller parts, say 4sqft on up until the magical break even point, where coincidentally, prep becomes more meticulous and precise and time consuming.

says me and my limited experience, but I've done some research.

That's an interesting way to look at it.

I can see how set up time can take a little longer, but I bet an operator could get pretty fast at it with time and experience. Also, it seems that there are a large number of manufactures out there that infuse small parts and they are making a fair margin. Now, I feel that I should add that I'm not into this stuff to make money right now, so cost per part isn't a driving factor in how I go about making a piece. This is nice because it lets me try new things, and learn new stuff.

One aspect of infusion that is very apealing to me is that you can take your time to get everything right before adding the resin. If you have a complicated mold, you can work the cloth just right, then move on to the next piece. Once this is done, you add your bag and now you have all the time in the world to make sure that your bag sits into the mold just right. You don't have to worry about the open time at all, because there's not any resin in the composite stack until everything is perfect. Of course it's important to mention that infusion most often makes the best parts directly out of the mold with nice resin to fiber ratios. If you add a second vacuum bag on top of the part, you can get that resin/fiber volume down even further.

My first infusion went much better than I thought it was going to mostly because I was using all the wrong stuff, so we'll have to see how it goes once I get my hands on the right stuff.

Mike Z, I have some nice deflectors comming your way, man!

Absolutely it will. You see the speed of the wheel ( not too fast and then creating heat) will with the same polishing compound make a satin finish that you got, into a show room high gloss finish. Anytime I make a mould, after 2000 wet sanding, I will buff the piece, as you experienced unless the mould is very high gloss, any imperfections will carry through, and also make for a bit more difficult release. A few things though. Light pressure, so as not to heat up the piece, and watch out for the buffer NOT to catch and grab and through the piece across the room. Rubbing compound is too course, but any polishing compound....turtle wax green box, white stuff inside, is good, But I prefer the 3M stuff from the automotive store. On another note, it is great to see you mess with the infusion, but my biggest advise to you at this point, is to get your vacuum chamber going. You will really benefit from degassing the stuff. Great job as usual...

Been following this thread

Small hijack
I am not nearly advanced as you, but I have made some Glass and Epoxy stuff, here is a picture of my latest creation, Made the plugs, moulds and then the fairing panels using a "Wet Lay-up"

That's pretty damn nice!!!

Hey mtbbker! I can't see the pics here at work, but I'll check them out as soon as I get home. Thank you for posting your project! From what bwalsh says in his post, your work sound very nice.

Edit: I'm back home now and WOW. I am very impressed. That is a large project, and now that I have a little experience I have much respect for what you did there. Very nice quality too. To be honest, this is very close to what I would like to create for the DR. It's funny that you post this project, because it is this very type of project that inspired me to start working with composites, and more importantly this thread. Someday I'll get there.

mtbbker, do you have any more pics of the build? I would love to see how you built the plug and molds.

Update:

Hi everyone! I haven't posted any progress to the deflector project for a few days, but I have a good excuse. I've been ramping up to be able to do proper resin infusions. Mainly I've been collecting the proper consumable items needed for the process. Infusion also requires a special low viscosity resin that has been somewhat difficult to get a hold of, but I've managed to request a couple of sample lots, with a full order not too far in the future. I've also procured a new deep vacuum that will allow me to pull 29.9" of mercury in the vacuum bags. This deep vacuum is needed to properly degas resin as well as remove moisture from the composite fabric within the vacuum bag. I've also been studying and researching like a mad man trying to learn about best infusion practices, and figure out the best way to start some infusion tests. The first real part to be infused will be Zoomzu's hand guard deflectors, but I'll need to do some tests on a flat piece of glass using fiberglass before I try to infuse any carbon. This keeps costs down to a minimum while I learn. I'll try to post some pictures of some of the new goodies tonight, so keep your fingers crossed...

Project Update!

The Resin Infusion project has been updated. Click here to go directly to that post.

Max pressure has been reached...

Teaser pic

Hi

Here is a link to the build\project in the Garage Thread of the Wilddog Forum, I have another 100+ pictures
A lot of what I did, I learned or tried a few times as the project progressed (Or should I rather say evolved!) - That is actually the fun part of a project like this, learning and trying new things

http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=86025.0

I'll check the link out over the weekend. Thank you for posting it.

I agree. The most fun part about all this stuff is learning new things, and of course pulling nice parts from molds.

Project Update!

The Resin Infusion project has been updated. Click here to go directly to that post.

Get your infusion on!!!

Teaser pic

Project Update!

The Resin Infusion project has been updated. Click here to go directly to the project post.

Ample Samples...

Teaser pic

Project Update!

The Resin Infusion project has been updated. Click here to go directly to the project post.

Rampin' up for the real deal...

Teaser pic

Very cool! The level of your work is consistently improving to the point that you are beginning to look like a pro. You are also very good at explaining what you are doing and why!

Jim

Thanks, Jim!

My learning has been progressing at a fair pace, and it's because of this great forum and others like it. I really enjoy sharing my adventure, and I hope that it has helped others along the way.

Pretty soon we should all be able to look at a nice new set of wind deflectors mounted up on Zoomzu's handle bars. I might scavange the ones I laid up today for the DR if they come out of the mold. :eek1

Project Update!

The Carbon Fiber Handguard Deflector project has been updated. Click here to go directly to the project post.

Nothin' but carbon...

Teaser pic

Project Update!

The Carbon Fiber Handguard Deflector project has been updated. Click here to go directly to the project post.

Mount em up!

Teaser pic

Wow, that turned out very nicely and the system looks reproducible also. Good job. - David

Jim

Friday was fun. They look great. Can't wait till I get mine.

Project #6: Carbon Fiber Hanguard Deflectors - Part 3

Click here to go to part 2 of this project.

Well, today was the day. I made good on my delivery to the Z man himself. But before I get to that, let me give you a brief background on the finishing of his deflectors.

I wanted to add an extra spark of pizazz, and of course take the oppertunity to practice my painting skills, so I masked off a little trim line on the parts.


The ferring on Mike's KLR is silver, so I thought that a silver highlight would look good.




But I really didn't like how they turned out, so I sanded all the clear and paint off and started again. This time I figured that I may do better going the stelth route, so I went with black instead. I think that this turned out a lot better.






Today I dropped by the Zoomzu residents to drop off the goods. In no time we had the deflectors mounted and looking as good as ever. The rest of the pictures tell the story.








Zoom!!


The deflectors seem like they will provide a lot of protection from the wind and rain.




All geared up and ready for a test ride. I hope you enjoy your new deflectors, Zoom!


I have been thinking about putting together a compilation slideshow video of this build, so look for it comming soon. With that said, the delivery of the parts to the man that inspired this project officially marks the end to this build thread. Thank you, everyone for tagging along. It has been a very fun and educational build for me, and hopefully you all as well.

The end of the build has come, but I still have a perfectly good hand guard deflector mold sitting in the shop. If you have the Moose Racing hand guards mounted to your bars and you're looking for some deflectors to mount up, drop me a line.