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Composite Party 1/27: The Sequel

T

tygaboy

New member
Joined
Jun 8, 2004
Location
Petaluma
Moto(s)
The current project bike
What a day! Lots of attendees, lots of heel guards, lots of fun. We're doing what we can to organize all the pics and videos and we'll get things posted ASAP.

EDITED 2/12/07: The videos are available! Big thanks to Vic for making this happen.

Part 1 (using back of part as mold)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_fKlDzemPY

Part 2 (laying carbon fiber)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWiSSLPf6JI

Part 3 (vacuum bagging)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s12pUg9ypVU

Part 4 (Mold Making)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb8QnQf72Rg
 
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Well, we had quite the day. I was a bit too optimistic in my abilities to support as many folks as attended so I'm happily having a couple 'private sessions' to help complete support commitment.
But what we did accomplish was pretty cool.

There were a few different kinds of efforts going on:
a couple people making molds, most making relatively simple parts - we had heel guards coming out our ears, one exhaust hanger and one Ducati 749 exhaust shield.
We even had someone get into the 2-part expanding foam and fill in the passenger seat area of his R6 tail, shape it to his liking and then 'glass over it. Once it's cured, he can carve out the foam. Very cool!
But the "lowest tech" effort was John's making a flat panel to serve as a tray to bolt to a flat section of his RVF400 race bike.

But let's start with the heel guards and exhaust shield. Since none of us are interested in using what we made as the basis for any production level output - we're just making a single part - we opted to 'cheat' a bit and use the original part as the mold.
This result is a slightly different sized part in that we aren't making a mold of the original and then a part from the mold. But in the case of the parts we made, the only really critical dimensions are the mounting points. And these points are exactly duplicated using this 'mold-less' approach.

Let the pics do (most of) the talking!
 
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What good is the passenger side window of a '61 Suburban when it's not in the Suburban? :confused
I know! Let's rub on a few coats of mold release wax, PVA it and use it as a "mold" for a flat carbon panel! :applause

2944643-p1280002.jpg
 
Glass is a GREAT surface for this sort of thing. We could have vacuum bagged it but using the roller you see in the previous picture does a super job of compacting the laminate, removing air bubbles and leveraging teh appropriate amount of epoxy.
Done and done! A bit of trimming and John is all set. Oh, and it might float away if he doesn't get it bolted down soon - it's that light.

2944648-p1280005.jpg
 
John also brought a war-torn exhaust hanger with him. I asked "Do you really want to make a 'bent' carbon exhaust hanger?"
He said the mounting points are all where they need to be so "Yes!", was his enthusiastic reply.
OK then!

Wax and PVA, balance it on a paper cup, lay up the carbon fiber - don't forget to use Kevlar in the mounting point areas - and let it cure. Again, we could have bagged it but decided to lat this one air cure.
That's it to the right off his flat panel lay up. (sorry for the dup pic) Not much to look at at this point, is it? :laughing

2944655-p1280002.jpg
 
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The other side - once it was done curing.
You can see this is a really simple technique...

2944657-p1280006.jpg
 
And here it is with the 'mold' removed. Pretty easy to see where it needs to be trimmed. How simple is this? :cool

Note the Carbon Kevlar poking out near the upper mounting points....Way to go, John! :thumbup :thumbup

2944658-p1280007.jpg
 
Personal Editorial Comment:
I think most of the people who attended yesterday would agree that while making these sorts of parts is fun and interesting, by the time you consider the cost of supplies (you can't buy carbon in less than 1 yard @ ~$60) and your time, if you can buy the carbon part you want, it probably makes more sense to do that.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the creative process and I find it very rewarding to make my own stuff.
BUT... I must confess, I just bought some carbon fiber for my Ducati and it's higher quality than I could make in that it's prepreg that's been autoclaved.
So, in my book, if you just WANT the part and are not too interested in fabricating, buying is most always a better "time vs. money" bargain.
Thank you, I'm here all week and if you need me, I'll be off making something I can't buy! ;)
 
A sea of heel guards, etc., fresh out of the vacuum bag and unwrapped from the peel ply and breather.
Everyone did their own prep and lay up, then we wrapped everything and bagged them all in one big bag.

2944666-p1280001.jpg
 
Happy Birthday to Jen!
It true! We had a couple BARF women (I'd say BARF Hotties but that would be sexist...) here doing composite work, too!
And it was Jen's B-day. Her BF, Charles, was at the first seminar and was back for Round II.
Jen wins the award for "Heaviest Stock Heel Guards". From her GS500, I think it was? A bit of trimming/drilling and her bike will weigh 15lbs less with her REALLY beautiful carbon heel guards! :laughing

"Hey, baby...Nice heel guards."

2944673-p1280014.jpg
 
My "Part of the Day" award simply has to go to (dammit, I've forgotten his name!)
the Ducati 749 exhaust heat shield.
I was concerned about this part in that is has this sorta tight little radius that runs around the outside. These are the kinds of details where bridging and air bubbles like to happen. But our vacuum bag worked it's magic and this came our GREAT!!!
Note that, same as with the heel guards, all we did was use the back side of the original part as the mold.
This part came out SOOOOO nice.
The inside of the original part was not all nice and shiny and that finish is duplicated on the production part. It's got that 'full race' satin sheen. It's really, really nice.
Congrats - great result! :applause

2944679-p1280012.jpg
 
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w00t! ^^that's awesome, I love the satin finish!

Chris, with the heal gaurds, did most mold off the front or the back of the part?
 
A bit more close up.
Trimming and drilling is all that's needed. In all seriousness, if someone said they paid $150 for this, I'd say "Yep, and you got a really nice part, too."
Did I say I LOVE this piece?

Man...it makes me want to buy a 749 just to bolt on under it!!! :p

2944691-p1280013.jpg
 
1FastF4i said:
w00t! ^^that's awesome, I love the satin finish!

Chris, with the heal gaurds, did most mold off the front or the back of the part?
Click to expand...

Good question! Since we want the 'nice' surface of the carbon to face out, we have to mold off the back of the heel guards. This worked well for the folks who's heel guards' back sides were in good shape.
Jen and Charles had to do a bit of sanding/prep to clean up the rear of the steel GS guards. And since those are chromed, note that Jen's part came out far more shiny than the Duc heat shield.
 
ughh i hate that i missed this day and that i didnt even know. whens the next session? what will i have to bring besides the parts i want to mold? i have some fiberglass and kit stuff left from my upper i had to patch up. i was thinkn of some front fork guards, tail, and some other parts from my xr50. hope the next one is soon and the work looks very nice. next time though im so in. please pm me to update me just in case i overlook/ or forget.
thanks
tony
 
First off - BIG THANKS to Chris for doing this. We all had a great time, and learned A LOT!

Here's a link to flickr with all the photos my dad took, including a few of Chris' AMAZING sv! :hail

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stumcfarland/sets/72157594505694630/

I'm the one who tried making molds of the side panels for my 03 sv, and as Chris said in DougZ's thread, one turned out pretty decent (for a first try), and the other is definitely the "practice piece"! :laughing

Regardless, it was a great learning experience, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is grateful to Chris for taking the time to teach all of us!

Thanks again,
Neil
 
Chris...

I forgot to ask. How do I trim it when I get my grubby hands on them.....:teeth

BTW. I sent you pics of the tank...
 
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