carbon fiber
Moderators: BeligerAnt, petec, administrator
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carbon fiber
i decided on carbon fiber for chasis and armor any tips before i begin construction
- BeligerAnt
- Posts: 1872
- Joined: Wed May 15, 2002 12:00 am
- Location: Brighton
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You can buy carbon fibre cloth and mould your own custom components which gives great flexibility in design, or you can buy carbon fibre "plate" which is already moulded into flat sheets.
The problem with moulding your own (unless you have access to presses, autoclaves and such 8) ) is that it's very light but not actually very tough. It's also quite difficult to get the resin to impregnate the cloth properly. It is very rigid though. It will not stand up to spinning discs as they just slice through it like a circular saw!
The pre-moulded sheet is probably tougher as it is commercially manufactured.
The up-side of moulding your own is the "cool" factor - it looks really great and you can have (almost) any shape you like. The build diary on my website shows the making of RONNY's CF bodyshell. The next version of RONNY's bodyshell will use Kevlar with titanium panels moulded in, to stop the spinners cutting through!
If you buy flat sheet it is easy to join with epoxy adhesive.
The problem with moulding your own (unless you have access to presses, autoclaves and such 8) ) is that it's very light but not actually very tough. It's also quite difficult to get the resin to impregnate the cloth properly. It is very rigid though. It will not stand up to spinning discs as they just slice through it like a circular saw!
The pre-moulded sheet is probably tougher as it is commercially manufactured.
The up-side of moulding your own is the "cool" factor - it looks really great and you can have (almost) any shape you like. The build diary on my website shows the making of RONNY's CF bodyshell. The next version of RONNY's bodyshell will use Kevlar with titanium panels moulded in, to stop the spinners cutting through!
If you buy flat sheet it is easy to join with epoxy adhesive.
Gary, Team BeligerAnt
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- Posts: 76
- Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:15 pm
- Location: Hicksville New York
- Contact:
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- Posts: 76
- Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:15 pm
- Location: Hicksville New York
- Contact:
petec try http://www.ebay.com thats how i bought my carbon fiber
- Simon Windisch
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- Location: Reading
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- BeligerAnt
- Posts: 1872
- Joined: Wed May 15, 2002 12:00 am
- Location: Brighton
- Contact:
Pete, try this place:
http://www.prestwich.ndirect.co.uk/fsrv/materials.htm
I haven't used them yet, but I plan to get some kevlar from them soon.
When I went to the Science Museum recently I had an interesting idea. Stab-proof vests are made from a mixture of kevlar and stainless steel mesh. I wonder if something similar could work against spinners. Meanwhile I will try moulding titanium sheet into the kevlar when I make the next version of RONNY.
http://www.prestwich.ndirect.co.uk/fsrv/materials.htm
I haven't used them yet, but I plan to get some kevlar from them soon.
When I went to the Science Museum recently I had an interesting idea. Stab-proof vests are made from a mixture of kevlar and stainless steel mesh. I wonder if something similar could work against spinners. Meanwhile I will try moulding titanium sheet into the kevlar when I make the next version of RONNY.
Gary, Team BeligerAnt