This page documents the manufacturing of the Catamaran Cover. It includes documentation on what went well and what didn’t, as well as anything noteworthy that came up during the process.
Test Molds - Creating fillets by hand
I made a test mold for the lid fillet to see if it was worth making by hand. The success of this test will validate the Plan A’s for the Battery Section wall and lid molds, and will eliminate the need for CNC.
The MDF sheets were cut and glued together so that one side was staggered, which meant less material to sand away.
I found that using a hammer and chisel to remove the initial larger chunks sped up the process. Though I had to be careful to not accidentally chisel the top sheet or chisel away too much material. This part was messy so proper PPE must be worn.
picture of chiseling
Next I used an orbital sander, with a curved back-and-forth motion, to try to carve the fillet as close as possible while also trying to keep the MDF level across the length. The accuracy of the curve was checked frequently using the 3D-printed sanding jig.
picture of orbital sanding and jig
Once the fillet was close to its final shape, I used the sanding jig to remove the last bits of MDF to make sure the fillet was uniform. Wood filler was applied to close the seams between the MDF sheets and was sanded away once dried to produce a fully smooth surface.
picture of wood filler in seam
picture of final mold
Total Time: 3hrs