Is it possible to make moulds for carbon fibre out of wood? (probably in the form of MDF), as I know most use fibreglass and metal . If not wood, would acrylic do? I want to tinker and experiment with making some carbon bits and the easiest way to make the moulds for me would be out of either of those two materials.
thanks
Carbon Moulds
Moderator: robbosmans
Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓ Broad Selection ✓ Worldwide Delivery ✓
www.starbike.com
-
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 4:28 am
- Location: Berkeley, CA
You can make molds out of MDF just fine, but you will be limited to whatever shape you are capable of creating out of MDF. I made some carbon fiber floor pans using MDF as a mold, but they were mostly flat so they were easy to do. You can use just about anything that you can finish to a smooth surface.
Just make sure the material can withstand the heat used in the manufacturing process. Also metal will have a more even and longer lasting surface. If this is for fun projects then no problem.
Fast falcons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3mTPEuFcWk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
www.falcobike.com
Facebook: falcobikeglobal
www.falcobike.com
Facebook: falcobikeglobal
yes you can use MDF , acrylic plastic or any other material , you just need to be able to "get a mould release" the safest type is PVA release film which is a liquid plastic till the solvent evaporates and leaves a very thin film of plastic (blue or clear in Australia)
If you intend to use "pre-preg" (the fibres [usually carbon] are already wet out with resin [usually epoxy]) but you need a lot of heat to cure it (approx 100 degrees c min) and the mould material needs to be able to cope with that , otherwise a wet resin system needs no heat to cure just a few hours or overnight depending on gel- time and that would be easist IMO
ps If you have the ability to get metal moulds remember that they will expand with heat , aluminuim a lot in particular ,which is why steel is used a lot
If you intend to use "pre-preg" (the fibres [usually carbon] are already wet out with resin [usually epoxy]) but you need a lot of heat to cure it (approx 100 degrees c min) and the mould material needs to be able to cope with that , otherwise a wet resin system needs no heat to cure just a few hours or overnight depending on gel- time and that would be easist IMO
ps If you have the ability to get metal moulds remember that they will expand with heat , aluminuim a lot in particular ,which is why steel is used a lot