TET, here’s the picture link … it is the silver colored intake tube.
http://www.americanmuscle.com/cnl-cai-0509gt.html
Do you need a part to work off of to make the bladder/s?
Is the tooling complete for this piece? I’m guessing it’ll be at least a 2 part mold, preferably with the ends capped off. If the ends are open, the bladder will try to expand out of them.
Also, do you have a finished part done, or at least know what thickness you’re expecting? The bladder is made a little bit undersized, but too much undersized and some of the air pressure goes into just expanding the bladder instead of compressing the laminate.
What sort of fittings are you planning to use to attach compressed air? Barbed or quick release?
I’d kinda like to use a shrader valve air fitting, clamp the bladder between a metal plate and the end of the female mold via a flange. Probably use bolts to secure the metal bladder flange to the mold.
The tube i want to make is 1/8" thickness.
Would you need a prototype part to make a bladder?
I’d kinda like to use a shrader valve air fitting, clamp the bladder between a metal plate and the end of the female mold via a flange. Probably use bolts to secure the metal bladder flange to the mold. The metal flange will be drilled for the shrader valve.
The tube part i want to make is 1/8" thickness.
Would you need a prototype part to make a bladder?
Use sheet wax in the mould. You will build thickness with the sheet wax to desired thickness of the final composite (little bit more then desired…). Close mould, pour some silicone rubber and spin round until its hard enough… Finally bond valve from bicycle tube…
Good idea mike!!!
All depends on how much pressure you need, and how much it will take. i guess you can glass reinforce the valve area.
You will have problem with mould stiffness at some point of pressure. Moulds has to be really thick. Im not sure what pressure will be enough for wet layup. Depends on resin viscosity and other factors… Lot of trial/error…
If you ask me, I wouldn’t bother with a bladder. Use a two part mold and vacuum bag…
vacuum bag a tube mold? You mean like buy vacuum bag plastic that is already in the shape of a tube?
Do they sell vacuum bags in sleeve/round lengths? Because that would work. If I can get a 6" or 8" diameter vacuum sleeve bag.
The part has to be laid up in one piece though, no messing around with post fitting and gluing shells together.
How would you guys vacuum bag this? The mold will have flanges of course.
You don’t really need a special bag for it. Lay up your part like normal, roll up say a square of release film and pull it through the inside of the tube, then unroll the release film so it is covering your layup… Do the same with your air weave. Then make a bag that is wide enough to put your mold inside then for the length make it approx. 3 times the length of your tube. seal off all but one side, reach inside of the bag and grab one of the corners at the opposite side of the bag from the opening. This will start inverting the opposite side of the bag. Pull through until you’ve got a little over the length of your tube of inverted bag then put your part in the bag and push the inverted portion of your bag through the tube from the outside of the bag. Continue pushing it through until you can grab it from the other side of the mold and begin pulling it through thoroughly (make sure you aren’t bringing your airweave along with it). After that put your valve in, seal it up and pull your vacuum.
I hope that made sense… its really easy if you can see it done, but trying to write it out was more difficult then I expected, haha. Let me know if I need to clarify anything.
2fleish: Really nice idea…
If you want a tube bag from your classic sheet bagging film you can use standard ,heat weld,… this is the way how lots of bicycle manufacturing facilities make simple bladders for bladder moulding. You can use it as pressure bag or vacuum bag…
i heard Airtech was selling something like that…not sure where though, maybe in Europe.
I made a mistake in my thinking. I have to have a bladder if i make the tube in one piece. No way to get the carbon fiber wrapped 360 degrees into a tube mold, lay down release ply, breather, and then vacuum bag/tube bag it. It would be too tricky.
With a bladder I can slightly inflate the bladder, then wrap the wetted carbon fiber cloth around the bladder. Insert the wrapped bladder into the closed mold, and then fully inflate it.
After it is cured, deflate bladder and remove it. Unbolt mold halves from each other, and release whole tube part.
So in short… TET I do need a bladder. Are they pricey? Can I re-use it many times? Can you vulcanize an air fitting to the end of the bladder?
Side note… making my own out of latex or silicone may not work? I want to be able to re-use it many times and it has to have an air fitting attached.