Moulding Carbon Fibre bits?

[garymck]

Hi,
I've just completed building a CNC Router/Mill with an cutting area of 600x600.

It occurs to me that I could cnc some moulds and use them to make some Carbon Fibre bits to replace the coke can castings on my chinese newts.

Does this sound feasible? Thinking about using high density foam to make the mould - wouldn't matter if they broke when removing the completed parts?

Workable?

cheers
Gary

[LewisM]

I know a guy that makes aircraft mod kit (REAL aircraft) parts in exactly the manner you describe Gary.

[garymck]

Thanks Lewis, will give it a try once I get some more experience at milling. Tried the mill out on some foam and it worked fine.Just need some more experience creating tool paths for complex shapes.
Cheers
Gary

[davidcampbell]

What method of manufacture will you use for the carbon fibre ?

Mould choice will need to factor in many things:
Vacuum bagging, will the foam collapse under vacuum?
Resin choice (will it eat the foam, do you need to seal the foam)?
Room temperature cure or elevated cure? Will the foam soften/melt?

I would recommend resin infusion. It has the advantage of you can take your time getting the layup perfect, pull a vacuum then when you are ready, mix the resin and draw it through the laminate.