Another intro

First Stop Introductions
#1

Hi everybody,

I stumbled onto this forum and I’m still in awe of the depth and information available here! My name is Anders. In the 90’s, I was heavily involved in racing and selling formula car racing chassis. Although my F2000 chassis were tubeframe, I had a a lot of exposure to Formula Atlantic and IMSA GTP cars, and that’s where my fascination/curiosity with composites was born.

Nowadays, I build classical guitars (acoustic) for a living. In this trade I build a lot of my own tools, especially molds and templates, and also use vacuum technology for gluing and holding. I’ve been dabbling in making my own patterns and molds for composites using 12 lb/ft Last-a-foam. Using woodworking routers and jigs and handtools has made it relatively easy to create some accurate patterns. Lay-up for me has been exclusively wet (hi-temp epoxy), so far, but I’ve recently got some prepreg samples and also want to learn more about infusion.

My composite interest is not really at all for the guitars, but for my current car project. I’m fabricating a new turbo conversion (v2) for my BMW E30 M3. The project involves doing all the work myself, from installing/configuring a standalone ECU, to designing/tig’ing Inconel headers, to a carbon intake manifold and carbon ducting.

I look forward from learning from everyone on here!

Whew, that was wordy. I hope that wasn’t oversharing! Being Swedish (30+ year US resident), I’m not even supposed to be that talkative! :stuck_out_tongue:

Anders

#2

Welcome along anders. Would love to see some of your f2000 cars. Sounds like a mega e30 your building

#3

welcome anders!!
i am interested in the guitars… do you mean you make them from composites??

#4

and please - talk as much as you like!
the more people that talk, the more knowledge that is shared :slight_smile:

#5

Welcome to the fun :slight_smile: Inconel headers… 600 series or? that’s some expensive metal.

#6

Hi Matvd,

The F2000 cars are very well known in Europe, epecially in the UK: Van Diemen
(Pics are big, but file size is only 200kb) These are of me racing at the Valvoline Runoffs at Mid-Ohio '94. My mechanic is obviously riveted by the excitement! :smiley:

I may be biased, but I think the cars had a more pleasing shape back then, before raised-noses became the rage…

#7

No, I don’t do anything acoustically with carbon, only as an occasional reinforcement. The classical guitar crowd is very conservative, so it’s important to not stray too far from traditional practices. Having said that, one can make a honeycomb soundboard, for example, using only wood.

I do mold-making that in some ways will translate over to composites. Some molds are steel, EDM-machined to be able to produce the pictured marquetry. I use release agents so that the PU glue doesn’t bind the wood veneers to the tool. The wood pixels in the repeating mosaic wedges are .012" and there are about 1000 pieces per wedge. The tolerances are tight, otherwise the ring won’t form a circle without gaps.

#8

Hi Fastrr,

Yep, I’m using Inconel 625. I’ve been consulting with a firm overseas that makes F1 exhausts and that’s where I’m buying it. It’s expensive, but not much more than a lot of 321SS bends in the US. Plus, I shave about 10 pounds off the weight of the engine using it. Here’s a pic of the mock-up header made in high-density foam. The bends are made using templates and my router table.

#9

Wierd, I answered Fastrr, but a message said my post wouldn’t be listed until reviewed by an Admin. Maybe I’m putting up too many posts in a row?

#10

It’s an anti spam measure for new users. It won’t bother you again. Welcome to the forums and awesome pic! Thanks for sharing

#11

Thanks canyon!

#12

You crafted that out of foam!? Nice job!

#13

Yeah, it was actually a little easier than I expected. I had the whole header designed in 3D CAD and I just duplicated all the same bend angles. Once superglued together, it had plenty enough intergrity to mount it in the car and check fitment.

#14

Good job. So what composite parts are you planning on making for the e30?

#15

I second the foam cutting. Looking at that I thought it was CNC cut. You’ve got skills!