Infusing over a steelor aluminum part in a mold?

General Composites Discussions Composites Talk
#1

I am wondering if it is possible to infuse over a piece of steel or aluminum if I place it in the mold with the stack of reinforcement?

#2

for a bracket? Yup! as from my other post about epoxy bonding, make sure that it’s wrapped in glass if in a CF composite. Else it might corrode. If only glass, no need to bother.
Might want to make a rubber tipped (so not to break the bag) jig on the mold, so the inserts stay exactly where you want!

#3

Thanks riff!

i was thinking of making 2 slits in the mold and having the bracket actually stick out and only infusing over the base which would be buried in the stack, and putting sealant tape around the edge of the slits and the bracket… what you think?

That corrosion problem, how quickly does that happen? would stainless steel be more prone then aluminum? Would one corrode faster then the other?

#4

steel is gonna corrode/rust faster than any metal for sure. I hear aluminum sticks well to resin. Don’t know if that helps but thought i’d toss in my -2cents lol.

There are different grades of stainless steel, believe it or not some will rust. 304 stainless steel is excellent at holding off corrosion.

#5

Thanks fastrr, I think Al might be better too, it’s easier to get it scuffed up too.

#6

I’ve heard of many people who use aluminum brackets on the backside of composite bumpers.

#7

What if I used titanium fasteners/brackets/bolts?

I found this chart and Ti is pretty close to the bottom of the list…

http://www.mcnallyinstitute.com/04-html/4-1.html

More importatnly I think I will have to figure out a way to insulate with glass around the steel parts…

#8

Most all resins Do Not stick well to Aluminum, even if scuffed up really good. There are etchers out there to make the bond alot better though.

#9

you are not bonding resin TO the metal , you are encapsulating it , like the rubber grippers encapsulated in plastic toothbrushes , an ideal angle bracket would have holes in it and resin/glass just surrounds it all

#10

nonono. There have been MAJOR issues with Aluminum. It will dissolve due to galvanic corrosion. Never use Al unless it is protected! May not happen in a day, or a week, but it will happen soon enough. Stainless is a better bet either way.

as for your slit in mold idea, I can’t really picture what you are saying. but, it’s also early and the office coffee looks like tinted water. Ain’t drinking that.

#11

thanks for the info, I guess SS is back in as an option.

#12

well, as long as the metal is protected from the carbon, that is what I’m saying. If you add a layer of glass around the metal to be bonded, there shouldn’t be much of a problem.

I wonder if anodizing would help in this matter…shrugs

#13

Do some research on Alodine 1201.

#14

Riff, I think it will be easier for me to bond it to the laminate then have to worry about infusing over it, and I don’t think I will lose anything structurally by doing so the way I have planned. It will not be visible so I’m planning on making fastener plates on either side of the laminates and then having a bolts through and also using some adhesive on the plates. So it will sandwich the cured laminates but also be glued for a little extra extra…

Thanks JRL, I will look at that.

#15

You might look at hard anodizing some series 7075 aluminum,though is expensive it is very strong.The hard anodizing is available in only a few colors.Best I can remember it was dark military green,black then some off the wall crummy color. I cryogenize then hard anodize 6061 T6 alum sprockets on my race cars,I get almost twice the life out of them.check it out bro.