Dope! Has anyone heard/use ceconite fabric?

General Composites Discussions Composites Talk
#1

So I was flipping through the channels and stopped on “How its made” and the portion I saw was on blimps and they were showing how a wing was made… They make the skeleton frame and then they glue on a fabric called “ceconite” (i believe from my short google search). once its heated, it shrinks and becomes taunt!

I’ve never heard or seen of this stuff but though it is freaking cool! and automatically i though composites, i dont know the chemical properties it can handle but i was thinking this may be a good alternative to the “stretching fleece and soaking it with resin” method commonly used in sub enclosures… i think it will also make a more precise piece aka less body filling etc…

What are your thoughts? anyone ever tried it/heard of it? i think it will be awesome to use to make plugs and stuff…

[ame=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiUbFR21-6s”]Fuselage covering with Ceconite - YouTube[/ame]
omg this stuff is amazing.:smiley:

#2

At work we use a similar product called Diatex from France. You have to heat shrink it then set it with a specialized “dope” to get it hold after shrinking. It’s pretty cool but there is quite a bit of work involved and the dope smells REALLY bad. We also use a product called Clysar which is a film which is not quite as tough but has much quicker application times

#3

ironic i titled this thread “dope” and dope is actually a term used in that field… do you know what “dope” is? i heard it before but wasnt sure what they were referring to…

I just bought a sample kit from stewart systems. Their customer service was super friendly and helpful. http://www.stewartsystems.aero/category/36/fabric-finishing

we’ll see how it works out HOPEFULLY, it will be rigid enough for me to use as a plug… cant wait to test it out!

#4

I couldn’t tell you exactly what the dope is made of but the Diatex fabric is basically peelply, just woven polyester. The dope is also know as “tension compound”. As for using it as a plug I would say marginal at best, will depend a lot on the shape. Because of the weave it can do slightly strange things when it is shrunk, especially depending on the direction of the weave when applied. For example on a wing it will often “sag” (it’s not actually sagging) between ribs, ie once tensioned it will be lower in the middle then the ribs. The other issue is surface finish as is doesn’t come out perfectly smooth. You could cover it with teflon PSA though. Might work for wet layup but I think that you’d struggle to bag anything on it.