Now for the resin feed...

Once all that garbage is in place....Then the bag gets built.

Under vacuum.

With infusion, the vacuum bag must be PERFECT, meaning no leaks ANYWHERE. Leaks equate to pulling air THROUGH your part.

Air = (really bad) weak parts

So, as you can imagine, there is a lot of room for error in these steps. One stray fiber accidentally under the tacky tape can ruin a bag and drive you nuts in the process.

Luckily, I'm The Man, my bag was good.

This was also a test of my plug, as I did not know until this point if it too had vacuum integrity. Clearly, it passed. Otherwise, this update would NOT be happening. Haha.





Once the bag checks out, it is now time to begin the infusion.

For those that are unfamiliar with the process, infusion uses the atmospheric pressure to "push" the resin through the laminate. The atmosphere weights a lot. So when you remove the atmosphere from the vacuum bag, you create a huge pressure differential. All of that weight conforms the bag and laminate to the plug form.

Resin is continually moved through the laminate, only keeping what is necessary, until the resin gels. The rest of the resin either makes its way into a trap, to protect the vacuum pump, or gets stuck in the lines of the "process stack".

A sacrifice in cost (plumbing, resin waste, etc..) but the benefit is a superior laminate, when compared to most other processes. Highly consolidated, and lightweight (no excess resin).

Plus, you never get resin on your hands. I like my hands clean.




Here's a picture of what the flow front looks like, wetting out the laminate. It's just finishing up here, as you can see the resin has made its way into the vacuum line.






Fully wet out. (took around 20 minutes)









Now, as long as the draft of the part is acceptable...It should release.


Tomorrow is the moment of truth. Time will tell!

And finally, here's an overall view (albeit terrible) of the setup. In the far view, you can see the vacuum pump, hooked into the plumbing. In the foreground, controlled via a valve, is the resin feed. Hopefully this makes sense.




That's what you're looking for, clarity in the laminate. All you can see is the fabric's 'binder'





That's a good sign. No air, Baby!

Now, as long as the draft of the part is acceptable...It should release.


Tomorrow is the moment of truth. Time will tell!

This post was edited by OldAndyAndTheSea on Nov 13 2014 04:54pm

Andy. You looking for a job?

Seriously...

Offer still stands, I will pay good money to have most of my fc's parts recreated in CF.

I'm self employed. But, my boss is a dick, so I could need a job down the line





Hypothetically, what would you like to see created? Like what is on your priorities list?

Open to suggestions, because as my business rolls into the winter months, my business partner and I will look into doing some side projects.

Only a matter of time before that 240z is made out of carbon fiber

Come build race cars in California.... You know you want to....