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- Discuss aerobody manufacturing process with Andy Philips of
- Key considerations going forwards
Minutes
Who | Going with vacuum Vu Julian Hoa-Chau Huynh (Unlicensed), Andy | The estimated for a ca. 4m^2 area mold is 8 hours to prepare with the layup and vacuum. Additionally, vacuum checkup must be performed.The recommended weave for the fibreglass to be used is 2x2 twirl. This allows - 8 hrs for first layup (everything prior to adding resin)
- Vacuum check must be performed (to ensure vacuum can be held)
- Recommended vacuum pressure should be 27 - 29 inches of mercury (near perfect vacuum).
- Approx 45 min to 1 hr for epoxy to fully absorbe into fibreglass
- For prototype mould, concerns about using envelope bag (if can't pull proper vacuum using reg. vacuum bag)
- Envelope bag could crush and damage mould
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Layup Materials (Resin, Core, Fibreglass) | Fibreglass - Recommended weave for the fibreglass is 2x2 twill
- Allows for complex curves and sharp ridges to be made from cut off strips from the roll
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. Additionally, cutting - Cutting the material at 45° will increase its flexibility by 25-30%
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.For the vacuum within the mold, the recommended pressure should be 27 - 29 inches of mercury. To measure this, a vacuum gauge is to be used, which will cost ca. $25.The estimated time for the epoxy and hardener mixture to fully be absorbed into the material will take from 45 minutes to 1 hour.- There should be 4 layers of fibreglass, however other numbers are possible dependent on the shape of the car
Resin
- The recommended available resin is MGS 135 resin, which can be mixed with a hardener to give it a longer pot life
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.If the mold is not sealed properly, the envelope could crush and collapse onto the mold.The spiral wrapping (is this what he meant?) to be used as the resin feed line is recommended, as it offers much greater versatility compared to other methods.In order to ensure a good finish of the part i.e. a good paint job for the aerobody, an epoxy primer should be used in the mold instead of a gel coat. This will reduce the weight exponentially and also allow for the painters to easily paint the car.The core material to be used should be DIAB - Divinycell H60, however it needs to be cut to fit to size and Core - Foam "sandwich" core: DIAB - Divinycell H60
- Flexible and can be cut to size
- Core does not need to be everywhere in the
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mold.There should be 4 layers of fibreglass, however other numbers are possible dependent on the shape of the car.It is very feasible to include multiple complex components of the aerobody into one single mold.To add lips and tongues for the trunks and the doors, dimensional wax can be used. They come - mould (as curves, edges, etc will add stiffness too)
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Multiple Panels from Single Mould | Dimensional Wax - Very feasible to make multiple panels using same mould (i.e outer skin of door + side panel)
- Features such as insets and lips for overlapping panels can be added using dimensional wax
- Wax comes in sheets of 1-6mm thick, and can
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be molded - be machined and moulded using heat to fit the specifications
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Consumable and Equipment | Resin Tubing - Spiral wrap tubing recommended to be used as the resin feed line
- Offers much greater versatility compared to other methods
Vacuum Gauge - Required to ensure pulling proper vacuum
- Can be a cheap $25 gauge (vs. $300 gauge)
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Paint and Windshield | Paint - Using a gel coat is not recommended for fibreglass
- Instead using paint will reduce weight exponentially
- An epoxy primer should be used inside the mould (similar to gelcoat application)
- Will allow for good surface for automotive paint to adhere to
Windshield |
, a company called ? can be contacted.Vacuuming | Andy, Former user (Deleted) | Concerns about pulling a vacuum too hard onto the molds - too much pressure can crack the molds- , check out York Aircraft (make aircraft canopies)
- Possibly consider using pre-made windshields for aircraft, boats, etc. and modifying aerobody
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Action Items | - Email Andy to get detailed information on possible contacts for composite materials, equipment, and possible paint sponsor
- Schedule "demo" to possibly construction practice panels at Composite Creation's facilities
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Action items