Catamaran Cover Materials/Manufacture/Assembly Concepting
- Adrian Au
- Ivan Cao (Deactivated)
Ownership
Matl’s/Mfr/Assem DRI | Contributors | Project DRI |
|---|---|---|
Ivan Cao | @Name, @Name, @Name | @Daphne Lai |
Research
Interesting research, images, links, recap of regulations, etc.
Material should be safe (no sharp edges) and structurally sound enough to support a full grown human.
Should not allow water to ingress into batteries.
Interior shouldn’t be conductive.
Aesthetically pleasing, if material does not allow that can be fixed with a wrap.
Two parts to battery cover: front and rear.
May or may not have 2 different materials for each section as the rear section has two supports.
Fiberglass
Typical thickness for fiberglass covers is around 1/8 to 1/2 inch (3.175mm - 12.7mm).
Fire resistant resin available.
Rough estimate of 6.3m^2 of battery cover.
https://compositescanada.com/fabrics/
https://www.youtube.com/user/easycompositestv/videos
Canadian site for composite materials, including fiberglass cloths: https://www.rayplex.ca/page328.html
Thickness of 9oz cloth: 0.28mm. To achieve a thickness of 1/8 inch would depend on layers of fiberglass and applied resin (need more research).
Fiberglass Sandwich (Foam core)
A foam core with fiberglass on either side adds stiffness and strength while keeping the piece itself relatively light. When a foam core is used to double the thickness of a structure, the relative strength can go up by 7 times while barely increasing the overall weight.
The foam core in addition to the fiberglass skin forms compressive and tensile properties on either sides. Which is why adding a core of any kind increases strength.
Some resins melt foam, need to find a resin that does not melt foam and is also fire resistant.
Resin
Epoxy resin will be used.
Note: sandwich fiberglass composite
Polyester resin melt foam, so most likely an epoxy resin would be used.
Material Concepting
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
Fiberglass |
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Wood |
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Carbon fiber |
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Plastic (not sure which yet) |
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Manufacturing Concepting
Concepts for what manufacturing processes to use
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|---|---|
3D Printing | Useful for prototyping or proof of concept testing |
Vacuum Forming | Thermoforming where sheets of plastic can be formed into objects such as covers |
Mold shaped into battery cover where it could be used to create a fiberglass cover |
Mold
Useful info: https://www.rayplex.ca/mouldingfibreglass.html
Most likely be using a male mold for the cover.
Assembly Concepting
Concepts for how various materials and parts will assembly together
Proof-of-Concept Testing
What sort of testing should we be doing to ensure our chosen materials/manufacturing processes/assembly methods will work on the end-product?
Could include ordering samples, testing fastening/joining methods, testing assembly procedures.