Making a 3D Printed mold for Carbon Fiber Infusion Process
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- čas přidán 22. 07. 2024
- Firstly I am not a professional. I am a hobbyist that has been playing around with carbonfiber. For the last 1.5 years I have been trying to find a workflow for my 3d printed mold process that can promise great results. I have tried various things and this is so far my best approach with best consistent results.
This lenghty video tutorial shares my process from A-Z. No secrets, nothing special, just steps I take to get to the finish line to allow myself to have a mold that has a decent surface but is air tight and works perfect for vacuum infusion process.
0:00-4:20 - Intro & Sanding First Layer
0:21-4:33 - Washing The Mold
4:34-10:40 - Coating First Layer of Resin
10:41-12:11 - Sanding First Layer of Resin
12:12-14:46 - Coating Second Layer of Resin
14:47-16:43 - Sanding Second Layer of Resin
16:44-18:15 - Sanding First Coat of Primer
18:16-19:07 - Sanding Second Coat of Primer
19:08-20:29 - Comments and Concerns on the mold
20:30-21:12 - Polishg Part and Final Comments - Jak na to + styl
looking forward to the results
Can’t wait to see the carbon part! Great job so far 👍🏻
That was an interesting video, thank you. Two things I'd do different are, 1, cut the mixing stick flat to be able to get into the corners of the cup (round doesn't "scrape" the resin from the corners} and 2, use gloves all the time because no matter how clean your hands are they still have body oil on then and it could affect the paint/primer you put down (unless you use wax and grease remover before priming/painting). Thank you again for your time and video.
Hey Andy!
Mixing stick makes total sense thank you. As far as the gloves, I 100% put them on once I am ready to paint/primer. I normally work bare hands but once I am ready to apply something that needs a clean surface I throw some gloves on and then Clean/Paint. I learned the hard way how important this is lol.
Try uv resin thats used in 3d printers, you can add multiple layers quickly just curing with uv lamp between coats😉
I use epoxy gelcoat to fill in the layer lines. Prefect to get a smooth mirror like finish.
Can you share the brand/name you use? Would love to look into this as well. I am by no means doing it the "right" way, just a way thats been finally not leaving me pissed with infusion lol
@@poltdesigns i use R&G. It's a german company i believe. And most of their epoxy products are aviation approved. I'm not saying u are doing it wrong. I just like the gel coat a bit more cause it's a little thicker like sirup.
@@TheTechnoaddict 100% agree. I might have to try a mold with your method. I do have Gelcoat laying around but its not epoxy lol.
@@poltdesigns don't know if it matters. Only used epoxy so far.
It was a shame you didn’t show the finished products, like you had on your cover photo.
Looking forward to seeing them created.
@@stevesloan6775 im actually making the part tonight! Just needed a better cover image than just a mold lol
Working with resin and sanding inside, you really should wear a mask
one option to smooth it out that may be worth trying is acetone smoothing. Basically exposing the plastic to acetone vapors and it reacts with the plastic to create a very smooth surface
@@mike230224 sadly doesnt work with petg. But I am also not worried about the smoothing as i am about the mold being air tight which is why coating with resin is so critical. Otherwise air gets thru the filament during infusion.
Have you tried using a body filler then sanding before you resin coat it?
@@webreakforsquirrel4201 so I actually do use the putty or filler if I have dramatic gaps or serious issues with prints. But if its to use it for removing layer lines than nah because by the time I add my primer layer all the lines are gone. They actually are gone after about 2nd stage of resin for me.
Looks nice. If you were to use a gel coat or tooling resin instead of the one you used, would you be able to get away without using the primer?
I honestly do not know. I tried to uuse tooling gelcoat on a test part and wasn't confident to use it on a real part. The primer is also very very easy to sand which is why I use it. And I have a gun for it so its easy to apply even as well as clean the gun after.
Would a kitchen oven from Amazon work well as a shop oven, or is it better to DIY an oven for use? I'm only building for myself with carbon fiber in two categories: ultralight hiking gear and electric longboard gear. I'm in the process of building a carbon trailer to be pulled by my electric longboard. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I think a kitchen oven would work just fine. Its all about curing the resin. You can also just cure it at room temperature it will just take longer. Hope this helps.
Which polishing compound and polishing wheel di you use for polishing? Nice job!
@@arogelj i use sonax cutmax with medium wool pad
17:20
"Can I pet them dogs" 😭
@@zenginellc hahahaha. Yeah doggies always welcome in my garage 😂. Only time I lock them out is when toxic fumes. Otherwise its all theirs lol