carbon fiber
Jun 8, 2004 | 07:51 AM
#2
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 6,033
Likes: 3
From: Wandering around Phoenix
Yup. I made this: http://cpsolarcar.com/
Well, ok, me and about 20 others. I also made a fender extension for my mountain bike so that I wouldn't get the black stripe up my back when commuting to school.
Well, ok, me and about 20 others. I also made a fender extension for my mountain bike so that I wouldn't get the black stripe up my back when commuting to school.
Jun 9, 2004 | 12:40 PM
#4
Contributing Member
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 6,033
Likes: 3
From: Wandering around Phoenix
Yeah, pretty much, although I don't have much experience with fiberglass.
There are different types of carbon sheets available. There's unidirectional and weave. Uni places the fibers all in one direction so there is great strength along the length of the fibers, but no strength perpendicular to them. You use this if you know the direction of the forces and stresses. The weave can be used where the force directions are unknown, but it's not quite as strong.
You can also get the uni and weave "prepreg", that is, the resin is already infused into the fibers and it's shipped frozen (but it's still flexible and you can cut it with a scissor). You heat it up in an oven to cure it. Prepreg is the easiest to use, you just sandwich everything together and cure it, no messy epoxy to mess with.
This brings up another thing, how to cure it. To get the best strength you need to bag the part, apply a vacuum and cure it in an oven. You put your part in the bag, seal it up and use a vacuum pump to suck out all the air (they make cheap hand pumps for this too). This applies a strong, even pressure on the whole part ensuring the layers of carbon fiber stick well to each other. Then throw the whole thing in an oven at, maybe 200 deg F or so and let it cure. Alternatively, if the part is flat, like a skid plate, you can just sandwich the part between 2 plates and clamp it, then throw it in the oven.
With fiberglass you just wipe or dip the fabric into the epoxy and layup the layers and let it cure, right? Well, you can probably do the same thing with carbon, but I'm not sure if it's worth it considering the cost of the carbon fiber fabric. I mean, you can do it, but the strength won't be the same. Likewise, I'm sure if you bag and vacuum fiberglass the strength would be much better too.
I can get more detailed if you'd like.
There are different types of carbon sheets available. There's unidirectional and weave. Uni places the fibers all in one direction so there is great strength along the length of the fibers, but no strength perpendicular to them. You use this if you know the direction of the forces and stresses. The weave can be used where the force directions are unknown, but it's not quite as strong.
You can also get the uni and weave "prepreg", that is, the resin is already infused into the fibers and it's shipped frozen (but it's still flexible and you can cut it with a scissor). You heat it up in an oven to cure it. Prepreg is the easiest to use, you just sandwich everything together and cure it, no messy epoxy to mess with.
This brings up another thing, how to cure it. To get the best strength you need to bag the part, apply a vacuum and cure it in an oven. You put your part in the bag, seal it up and use a vacuum pump to suck out all the air (they make cheap hand pumps for this too). This applies a strong, even pressure on the whole part ensuring the layers of carbon fiber stick well to each other. Then throw the whole thing in an oven at, maybe 200 deg F or so and let it cure. Alternatively, if the part is flat, like a skid plate, you can just sandwich the part between 2 plates and clamp it, then throw it in the oven.
With fiberglass you just wipe or dip the fabric into the epoxy and layup the layers and let it cure, right? Well, you can probably do the same thing with carbon, but I'm not sure if it's worth it considering the cost of the carbon fiber fabric. I mean, you can do it, but the strength won't be the same. Likewise, I'm sure if you bag and vacuum fiberglass the strength would be much better too.
I can get more detailed if you'd like.
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