Greetings all,
I have been wanting to use aluminum square tubing and aluminum sheet in some of my parts with vacuum infusion process, however, i was wondering if i need to treat the aluminum before infusing? paint, anodize etc… rest of the laminate would be carbon fiber and epoxy or polyester
for aluminum tubing schedule is mold (flat sheet) carbon fiber, last a foam (polyurethane) foam with aluminum tubing across the longer side of the piece (60"x24") and carbon fiber again.
here is the pic of very small scale of what i am trying to do.
Thank you
You can do several things, but the most common is to sand/sandblast/roughen the aluminum, use a thin layer of glass or kevlar around the metal, and then the rest of your materials. Having aluminum against carbon is never a good thing due to galvanic corrosion. You can try coating the metal with resin first, and letting it cure or tack, but in case any fibers get pressed in to the metal, you should really use an insulating layer.
For really good bonds you should phosphate anodise the part (Boeing patent, so lots of info online) but a good scuff with sandpaper might be enough, if you are not making airplanes.
Indeed, wrap in glass or aramide, or the stuff will act funny, especially when wet.