I will be making a profiled splitter for a race car so the finish doesn’t have to be perfect. Since splitters just inherently get beat up and its a prototype part, I’m looking for ways to quickly make the original parts. If they end up working I’ll make a proper mould. My idea is to shape it out of foam, then cover it with clear packaging tape/cling wrap, then flange and mould as normal. I think this should eliminate all the time to properly finish foam to make it a proper plug and all the waxing/polishing steps. Any tips anyone can share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I think you might be making this more difficult than it needs to be. I don’t see why you need to “mold” these…?
Why not just buy sheets of Nomex honey comb core and apply 1-2 layers of cf on top and bottom? You can just make new ones when they break…and they will break.
If I was making a flat splitter that would be fine. Think more of an LMP1 front end. That’s why it’s shape will be too complex to make from one flat sheet.
Oh…gotcha.
In terms of rapid prototyping, you could try spraying the shaped foam with a polyester primer (or DuraTec primer). That might be a lot easier and quicker than wrapping the foam with tape.
I would skip the tape, unless you’ve got some very wide tape! Cling wrap in 30-40cm widths or even pallet wrap (if that type of plastic is compatible) would be the quicker way to go. But then whatever you mould off that is going to be a bit on the low quality side as far as surface finish goes, same for your parts…
Or are you saying that you will put your foam plug into actual use and mould it if it works out? Wouldn’t it get destroyed on the car?
I used the tape method. Worked great. We weren’t really concerned about the final finish as this is a prototype part at the moment. I only used the foam to shape into a plug. I made a mold of that. There were some small waves/creases, nothing that couldn’t be sanded out of the final part. Now I can make the splitter and bond in the proper ribbing/supports. That wouldn’t be possible if I kept it a foam core.