Adventures in Carbon Fibre – First time infusion

I’ve been lazy in updating this, mainly because I’m always busy these days, but also because I wanted something cool to post, but I don’t really have that yet. Anyway, here’s an update! The first lesson of this update, is this stuff is expensive. I think I’m around £800 into it now. I’d better get good at this fast! My current purchases look like this (Sorry for the long list!):

• – 1x Uni-Mould Complete Mould Making Kit – Regular (0.7sqm) – £76.95
• – 1x MEKP Catalyst 250g (2x 125g) – £3.00
• – 1x Fluted Signboard 61cm x 61cm (Pack of 4) – £8.90
• – 5 x Plastic Resin Mixing Stick – £2.50
• – 4 x Calibrated Mixing Cup 1300ml – £2.52
• – 4 x Calibrated Mixing Cup 2240ml – £3.16
• – 1 x Plastic Demoulding Wedge Small – £1.38
• – 2 x 6mm Hose-Tail Barb Connector – £3.00
• – 1 x 8mm Hose-Tail Barb Connector – £1.50
• – 1 x 8mm Hose-Tail Barb Connector 1/2″ BSP – £1.50
• – 1 x Reducing Bush 1/2″ – 1/4″ BSP – £1.50
• – 4 x Newplast Plasticine 500g White – £7.40
• – 1 x PP180 Economy Peel Ply 1.52m (Black Tracer)- 5lm Folded Pack – £10.00
• – 1 x Soft Filleting and Filling Wax – 650g Pack – £10.95
• – 1 x NW1 PLUS White Super Cutting Compound – 500g – £11.30
• – 1 x FM100 Infusion Mesh 1.05m – 5lm Folded Pack – £12.00
• – 1 x VB160 Vacuum Bagging Film 1.52m LFT – 5lm Folded Pack – £12.40
• – 1 x 6mm ID Budget PVC Vacuum Hose 30m – £14.95
• – 2 x 200g 2×2 Twill Carbon Black Twaron 1000mm Wide – £42.00
• – 1 x IN2 Epoxy Infusion Resin 1kg Pack SLOW – £21.25
• – 1 x High Temperature Sheet Wax 2mm – £21.35
• – 5 x Resin Infusion Silicone Connector – £16.25
• – 2 x Resin Infusion Spiral Medium Flow 10m Coil – £7.00
• – 1 x Flash/Release Tape 50mm 10m roll – £3.75
• – 1 x Ball End Wax Filleting Tools Set of 3 – £31.50
• – 1 x MW1 Wax Additive Solution 250g – £4.95
• – 2 x 8mm ID Silicone Vacuum Hose – £10.00
• – 3 x Resin Infusion Line Clamp – £15.75
• – 1 x Composites Laminating Brush 1/2 Inch (12mm) – Carton of 10 – £5.35
• – 3 x ST150 Vacuum Bagging Gum Sealant Tape 15m – Individual Rolls – £16.5
• – 2 x 6mm ID Budget PVC Vacuum Hose 5m – £11.90
• – 1 x Mirka Abrasive Paper Combination Pack – 10 Sheets – £6.95
• – 1 x Catalyst Dispenser Bottle – £8.40
• – 1 x MC1 Mould Cleaner – 500ml – £8.50
• – 1 x High Precision Mini Scales (0.1g / 2kg) – £8.95
• – 1 x CR1 Easy-Lease Chemical Release Agent – 250ml – £9.50
• – 1 x BR180 Breather Layer Cloth 1.52m – 5lm Folded Pack – £9.75
• – 1 x 3CFM 1/3HP Refrigerant Rotary Vane Vacuum Pump – £43.99
• – 1 x 1.5 Gallon Vacuum Chamber – £44.99
• – 1 x Professional Resin Infusion Catch-Pot – £79.95
• – 1 x 2mm Lantor Soric SF Infusion Core – £8.45
• – 1 x Regular Mixing Sticks Pack of 100 – £3.50
• – 100 x Catch-Pot Liner / Large Mixing Cup – £15

Now, did I need to buy all of this stuff to do this? No. I needed some of it, but a lot of it is cheaper to buy in larger quantities, and to be honest I plan on making a fair bit of stuff so it made sense to buy it all now. I’m also buying a few different things to try and experiment with, so that adds to the cost. So where have I gotten to so far? Well, not that far. I’ve tried to pull two pieces of carbon from the mould above so far, and both have failed. This is a learning process, so I totally expected this! The first one I did before I got the catch pot, and I couldn’t draw the resin through enough to pull a good vacuum without the resin ending up in the pump, so that failed and ended up with a thick pocket of resin on both sides. Then I got the catch pot and tried again, but my bag had a leak in it somewhere and once again I ended up with pooling resin and the carbon not being pulled fully into the mould:

I’ve decided that part of my problem is that the flanges on my mould aren’t big enough as positioning the infusion and vacuum connectors is really quite difficult. As such I’ve decided to remake the mould and try again, so that’s the next job. In other news, I’ve cleaned up the garage a bit to make a better work space!

It’s a lot better than it was, and gives me more room to work. My other 2 garages are full of bikes etc. so its nice to have one with a bit of work space for this! Hopefully in my next update I’ll have more to share, and maybe even some good carbon!