Hello Composites Central, I’ve got an idea for a part that I will be making soon and wanted to get some input from the community. I don’t have very much experience constructing entirely new composite pieces, but I have repaired carbon/glass parts. The part I’m constructing is a tail fairing that needs to have provisions for a very sturdy platform. Here’s a description of what I have planned.
I want to laminate a prefabricated bracket of 6061 aluminum ~0.20" thick into a flat area of the part to have mounting points, for separate brackets, that are located entirely from a uniform piece, roughly 11 x 6". Here’s a quick rendering of what that bracket would look like:
Bracket - B
The laminate covering the holes at the ears on each side would be drilled through. The four holes on the face would have threaded inserts and be located and drilled for access from the inside of the laminate (opposite of view). Two brackets like the one below, one on each side, will attach to the finished part, utilizing two of the threaded locations on bracket - B (holes not shown on bracket - A)
Bracket - A
The rest of the part is pretty straight-forward. I have a plug and the frame that it will mount to. Due to its complexity, the mold will be a 2 piece deal. Plans are to vacuum infuse using MTI hose.
My area of uncertainty right now is my materials. I originally designed this with the finished part in gel coat/fiberglass construction with the aluminum insert. Now, I’m leaning to carbon construction with a composite/foam core to replicate bracket B. When I think of the bracket material and how it needs to perform, snowboards and skis pop into my head. Something with moderate strength and some flex. So… maybe formed plywood with inserts for the bolt locations.
I plan to go forward with building the mold and bracket A, but I need some help deciding what to do for the internal support and overall materials.