Embossed Plastic Sheeting For Making Your Own Pre-Preg

Classifieds Materials - FOR SALE / WANTED
#1

So long story short I posted a quick how-to video on making your own prepreg http://www.woodward-aerospace.com/carbon-fiber-prepreg.html

I stumbled upon this thread http://compositescentral.net/showthread.php?t=4597 and it quickly evolved into people needing a source on the embossed plastic, which is nearly impossible to find in quantities smaller than 2000yds…so the thread evolved and I’m asking anyone interested in buying to let me know and we can fulfill smaller orders.

To quickly quote the thread:

After talking with Anders and re-counting how many people have emailed or called us about a source for the embossed plastic, I figured I could “test the waters” a bit and take on the role as “middle-man”. I’d have to hire on some part-time help but that part is easy and I have no problem doing it as I have the space…and can always use an extra hand. However, I’m not going to do this for free obviously. The only thing I would charge is a small handling fee, shipping, and shipping supplies. I am more than happy to sell the materials at cost. Like I tell people that ask me to do some composite work “If you pay for the labor I can pay for the materials”. Basically most people don’t understand the enormous amount of labor that goes into making a plug, mold, part, etc.

If someone is willing to be the middle-man for less, or free, that’s fine and I would be happy to refer people to you but chopping up, packing, and shipping a bunch of rolls takes time…and time equals money. It’s difficult at this point in time to give quotes. I don’t believe in “minimum orders” so any amount would be fine but I would encourage at least 10 yards. I can also set-up price breaks for larger volume orders, let’s say starting at 100 yards. I don’t have any idea of what I would price it but normally I would wildly-guess that 2x the cost would pay for the handling part of things (so if my cost is $1 a yard I would charge ~$2 plus shipping). The price could change and I will post that as we know more.

What I’d like to know ahead of time is what the demand might look like. If you have any interest please reply to this thread with a quantity desired, or email me at parker@woodward-aerospace.com, or give us a call at 1-888-407-7797. My intention is not to make financial gains from this deal but rather to cover some costs and provide what seems to be a much needed, albeit niche, product to a market of composite experts looking to better control the quality of their product. That is essentially why we make our own pre-preg. Thanks for the consideration and please forward this to any who may be interested in the embossed plastic. The way I see it the more people we have interested the greater discount we could all get.

Also, please realize that it will be at least a month before anything is shipped out as Bloomer Plastics quotes 2-3 weeks plus delivery time. If enough people are truly interested then I’ll take this on so please contact me with a predicted quantity you would want. If for any reason I am unable to take this on I have a network of people that would likely be able to and if for some reason they are not I would gladly send any contact information/order info to someone that wanted to take this on.

Oh and I would basically be ordering the 3.0mil small diamond in yellow…what we currently use. It’s worked pretty well, even for very large pieces. I suppose very complex curves would be a bit difficult to lay into a mold or whatever but relief cuts and various other tricks that I’m sure you all possess would solve this…and of course we can always share new secrets learned.

Also, if you have any reservations about this, please contact me. I can assure you that all monies would be safe, and I’m not even asking at this point that people pay-in-advance. To give you a greater idea of our credibility we currently escrow deposits with a third party for our LP1 aircraft. These are $5,000 deposits and the reason we escrow them is to show our clients that our company is strong and plans to be around for a long time…we would never use deposits to fund research or development and that’s an important difference between us and many aviation businesses with new products. So I just wanted to say all that in case anyone has any worries especially because I’ve just joined this forum.

So with all that said…let us know ASAP what quantity you’d be willing to buy. Also email me your contact info (shipping address, phone #, name) or post it here if comfortable with that. All info will be kept private. If any profits are made from this we will donate 10% of profits to Composites Central. We believe in supporting websites and ventures like this.

Price-break details:
50 Yards- 5% off
100 Yards- 10% off
250 Yards- 20% off
500+ Yards- 30% off
1000+Yards- 50% off

Again, if we have enough people interested it’s possible I could get a price-break from Bloomers for a larger order. Just depends on what the demand is so let me know with quantities desired.

I think that should cover most peoples needs and beyond. Also the more you order the more you save on shipping if that wasn’t obvious. I will explore and post example shipping prices when I have them.

Parker
http://www.woodward-aerospace.com

P.S. I’m still amazed at the power of the internet…20 years ago this would never happened, all these buyers and makers in one place. It’s just cool when you stop and reflect on it.

#2

Parker,

I would want 20 yards initially, for testing purposes. If there was a small-ish 50-yard price break, I would probably opt for that. If I like the process subsequent purchases would be 100 yards.

#3

i would be in for a 100 yard roll.i will email you my contact info.thanks for taking this on.

#4

Parker,

Put me down for 50 yards for the first go-around.

Best,

Anders

#5

Bump for anyone else interested?

#6

I would like 50yards.

#7

A quick update for everyone interested…

Thus far it does not appear that there is enough of an order for the embossed plastic film. So far, it looks like the immediate order would be ~250 yards. At this point in time I think that’s too small from my perspective even with the likelihood of repeat orders. What I will do from here is to wait for another week to see if anyone else is interested. So if you want some please let me know ASAP. Otherwise, I plan to reach out to some of my contacts to see if they are interested in providing the film.

#8

Okay, thanks for the update, Parker, and for your efforts with this. I really want to try this film…

#9

i havent seen a price on this stuff.so how much per yard is this stuff?i would think its pretty cheap on a 2000 yard roll.im just wondering because i have a need for this stuff right away.

#10

I would like to get a sample. 10 to 50 yd depending on price.

#11

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update on the embossed film order. As of yet, I have not received enough pre-orders to go ahead with an order.

This is really just from my perspective…someone else might think there are enough. So with that said I have a simple spreadsheet that I kept track of the few orders that came in. if anyone is interested in taking on the role of supplier then speak up now. If not, I will check back in two weeks or so, and I will put a word out to my contacts that may be interested in supplying the film.

I really thought there would be more interest and I think there is but quite probably there are many more people unaware of this attempt. Anyway, attached is the spreadsheet (in zip format since I couldnt figure out how to upload a spreadsheet file) if anyone is interested in taking up the role. I thought I’d offer it to the community here first.

#12

So it doesn’t seem that anyone here wants to take on the task so I’ll be contacting a few suppliers to see if they want to supply this film in the smaller quantities discussed. I’ll let you know if anyone decides to supply it.

#13

Thanks, Parker. I’m still really interested in smaller quantities!

#14

You can count me in at 50yards. I doubt it puts you at the amount you need, but just the same…

George Bicanek
Bakemono Imports

#15

so,what is the roll cost?im just wondering how much of an investment this will be.i really need the stuff.im doing layups every day with the painters plastic.im really getting tired of it.if it takes buying a whole 2000 foot roll.then thats what i will do.

#16

It’s not a 2000 ft roll, it’s closer to 7,000 ft.

#17

wow.even worse than i thought.i dont really need it as bad now.the project i needed it for is now being laid up by another shop.

#18

I purchase embossed plastic sheeting at Walmart on a roll, small package. The plastic seems to be resin resistant. It’s in their paint supply isle.

10’x20’ is like $3.

#19

i just tried some of that stuff yesterday.a friend i was helping on some race car bodywork found it.the stuff does release well.its not near as good as the stuff on pre preg though.that is the stuff im really wanting to find.well i know where its at.i need to find it in a lesser quantity.

#20

I am just curious what the status is on this right now? Has this died, still in progress or…