rj Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 Does anyone know how to achieve the beautiful finish of the carbon fibre supplied by CC? I would guess the base used is some kind of pre preg stuff, but... Now, I'm not going to produce wings or nose cones - or in fact anything for a 7, but for another piece of toy... Many thanks in advance /regin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul McKenzie Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 What you do, first of all...is make sure the weave doesn't line up Klaus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k.russell Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 simple flat sheets can be produced by puting sheets of pre-preg between two thick metal plates and bolting them together very tightly, the bigger you go the more chance there is of having bad or dry area in the centre, ok for number plates model car chassis etc. can speed up the process by putting in oven. kevin R J457 DNU black-ali HPC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fibrepro Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 I know but, sorry I cant tell you i'd get fired. ☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe 90 Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 Quality of the moulds is crucial. SEP field working, not spotted in 101,000 miles. Some photos here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenpeace Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 http://www.mci.i12.com/carbon/index.htm The non threatening Eco Warrior Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xflow7 Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 I've wondered this in the past, too. Based on my dablings years ago with composites, I can vouch for the importance of mo(u)ld quality. However, the super smooth, shiny surface that one sees sometimes has seemed to me to be down to more than just mold quality. My guess has been that they first put down a thin layer of epoxy (perhaps with additives) in the mold and allow it to "go off" prior to laying in the plys of CF, thereby creating a thin layer on the outside that covers the weave roughness (similar to a gelcoat, but transparent and without pigments). No idea if that's really how they do it, though. Has just been my supposition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k.russell Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 When making complex shapes(wings and things) in molds, the finish inside the mold is what you get on the outside of the component, to get the high gloss finish a heavily pregged sheet is used and the work is either vacumed into the mold or autoclaved or both, the method i stated before, with the plates, can include vey shiny stainless or similar to give the shiny face, ps. this is how I made my rear wing protectors, this is about the limit on size with this method as the centre starts to loose pressure. kevin R J457 DNU black-ali HPC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulD Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Resin type and volume can have a big influence on surface quality. You might consider a higher resin volume ply as a surfacing ply. Resin manufacturers have resins specificaly formulated for surfacing plies e.g. ACG's LTM24ST here. Only use it if the B******t factor is more important that performance As has been mentioned above, mould quality is paramount. Paul Edited by - PaulD on 2 Jun 2004 11:07:46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted June 2, 2004 Author Share Posted June 2, 2004 Many thanks everybody! - the mouls surface is *not* the issue, I can tell you that! /r Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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