Hi everyone, I designed this box on CAD (images attached). Just wondering how would you guys make this part out of carbon fiber? The box dimension is 10"x10"x2", and the thickness is 3/16". I know the 90-deg angle is gonna make it difficult. Can this even be done? Thanks a lot in advance!!!
Simple! Layup a 10x10x2 solid panel and machine it out… haha
Realistically you could make each individual piece, trim/cut/machine to size, and bond together. Much like you would do if you were to make this out of wood. To make it easy to position the pieces you might want to make a jig.
Why do you need it to made out of carbon fiber? Is there some strength or weight requirement that dictates the use of carbon fiber?
Without being harsh: design fail.
There are already huge differences changing from steel to aluminium. And both are sold in sheet form! Designing for composites is completely different.
More than often I see parts being overly complicated and expensive to make, because the designer drew up something, got an OK on it, and the actual builder has to fight fiber to get the thing actually made, within time and quality constraints, and without rejected parts.
One of the things that jump in my mind is the housing for night vision goggles. The design was such that it took a skilled person 2 days (!!!) to produce a part (prepreg carbon, 2 aluminium inserts), which included 4 debulk sessions. We are talking about a 5x5" part.
In this case I can imagine a preform and an RTM mould can do the trick, but it is best to step back a bit, see what the dimensional constraints and the forces are, and design from there.
Let’s see what you have, and we might even be able to come up with a glass part, which can be easy to make, instead of a carbon part, difficult to make.
I agree this looks very difficult and maybe it could be re-thought to suit a composite process/technique. Probably easier, lighter and cheaper!
Thanks everyone’s help! I really appreciate it!
Look at the purpose of the vertical stiffeners and then design stiffness into the part with foam sandwich style layup instead.
Depending on the design purpose, you can make a box, make a tube, and some strips, and glue it all in.
You can also make the tube and strips in “T” shape, and bond them in as well. Major machining will have to be done, or at least careful planning and part production.
Other wise, you can RTM using preforms and a multi-part metal mold.
Hi everyone, our company is looking for a consultant for our new carbon fiber project. We will pay for your time. If you are interested, please leave your email address or other contact info. Thanks a lot!
With a little massaging, this could be done quite easily with a female metal tool, and multi-part trapped silicone prepreg layup.