Here’s what i got, tell me what you think. I will go back and edit if nesscessary. Maybe we could get this stickied. Any members interested in helpping me get a nice tutorial setup can swing by the shop and get paid to work a day at a time.
I’m also going to work on getting pictures during the process:
Infusion Media and Bleeder Prep
-
Take the spring stock and stretch it apart so that the coils hold a ¼ inch
space. -
Cut the springs, 1 to the length of the mold and the other 2 inches shorter.
-
Take needle nose pliers and bend the cut ends inward /inside so they
don’t poke a hole in the bag -
(Bleeder prep) wrap fiberglass around the short spring letting 1 inch
hang over the ends. 2 wraps should be good, Then use tape to hold it in
place. -
Cut 2 holes in the glass for your ¼ inch vacuum lines to go.
Locate the holes 4 inches from center on each side. Set it aside. -
(Infusion Inlet prep) Take the white screen mesh (infusion media) and cut
it to the length of the other spring and 5 or so inches wide. Wrap it 1 ½ to
2 times and secure it with wire ties so that it doesn’t unroll leaving the
remainder stick out like a flap. Cut 3 holes in it. 1 center and 1 hole 6
inches from center on each side for the 5/16 infusion lines. Set it aside. -
Spray tac 2 plies of the white peel ply in the same manner as the carbon/
glass lay-up. Make sure the corners are down in place fully, no gaps. -
(Infusion media to mold placement) spray tac the mesh down on the
slope flange, slope and bottom of the mold. Then 2 pieces to fit the sides
meeting at the lower corners. Make them contact and cut flush to the top of the 90 flanges. Cut the mesh at the back ½ inch below the flange level
contacting the sides.
Infusion and Bleeder Spring Placement
-
Place the spring with the infusion media on the flange of the slop side of
the mold. Letting the excess flap lay flat on the media already in the mold.
The vacuum will pull it down.
Zip tie or wire tie (like for trash bags) in place I think I drilled holes for
this? -
Place the Bleeder spring on the opposite side in the same manner except
Do not let the fiberglass come in contact with the media in the mold at any point. Secure it as far a way as possible, this allows for even infusion.
Make sure there is no sharp points anywhere that can make a hole in the bag. The vacuum and infusion lines will come later.
Bagging Prep
-
Cut your bagging material 3x wider and 8 inches longer than the mold,
you will need two the same size. Check them for any preexisting holes.
Lay one out flat on your workspace and place the bagging tape around
the edge leaving the wax paper on. Overlap the tape at the corners -
Set the mold in the center and securely attach the lines well inside the
springs. They must not come out during infusion. The 5/16 inch lines go to
the infusion side and the ¼ to the bleeder. The lines should be long enough
to reach the vacuum pump and resin pot. The vacuum lines can be teed
into one line no less than 6 inches outside the bag. You want to be able to
clamp these off with the duckbills later. -
Wrap bagging tape one time around your lines at about 2 inches from the
springs leaving the wax paper on for now. -
Remove the wax paper from the ends and attach the second bag on top.
Remove only an inch of wax paper that is aligned with the infusion and
bleeder lines one at a time and bring the lower bag up to the tape that
is wrapped around the lines. Remove the rest of the wax paper and seal
the bag. If you notice any slack in the upper bag add bagging tape to that
area and pinch what is called an Ear as you attach it to the lower bag.
Bagging Prep # 2
-
Clamp the duckbills on to the 5/16 infusion lines. Not excessively hard,
you don’t want to break the lines by over crushing them. -
Attach a tee fitting to the vacuum lines and one additional line from the
tee to the piston pump. -
Draw a partial vacuum on the bag and clamp the line off near the pump.
- At this time straighten the bag out. It is ok to have a small crease in the
corners. Pull full vacuum and fix any leaks by pinching the bag at the
source. Clamp the vacuum line off again and turn the pump off to see if the
bag holds a vacuum. It is important that this first bag is leak free and holds
vacuum on it’s own with out the pump. Don’t release the vacuum on the
bag any more until you are done with the cure.
- At this time straighten the bag out. It is ok to have a small crease in the
Intensifiers, Breathers and Second Bag
-
Place a small rolled up ball of bagging tape into the four lower corners,
This is called an intensifier; it pushes in the bag to prevent the resin from
pooling up as well as pushing in the lay up when the second bag is applied. -
Cut 1 inch strips of breather material (the white fluff filler for blankets) the length of the space between the intensifiers and attach it to them.
-
Place one strip of breather contacting one other breather strip up the center
and well over the sloped flange by 6 inches. This is were the vacuum line will attach for the second bag. Wrap the end of the breather around tip of the vacuum line and tape it in place. Make sure the end of the line is not exposed or it will suck in the bag and prevent any vacuum. -
Place a second bag over everything in the same manner as the first. This second bag will keep the lay up compacted when the infusion pump is shut down as well as prevent the resin from pooling. In addition it is a safe guard if there is any leaks in the first bag.
-
Connect the vacuum line of the second bag to the small black pump and
Turn it on. The small pump when it is turned on will shut off and come back on by its self until it reaches a certain temperature. The pump casing has never gone over 170. I have left it on for over eight hours to test it.
Resin mix and Infusion
1. Take one of the clear plastic party cups and zero out the scale with the
cup on it. Pour 354.2g of resin and 77.9g catalyst. Mix it slow and
well. Pour it into a new cup and scrape out the old cup completely
and mix it in the new cup well. The cup will be near full.
-
Place the resin in a bucket. Then trim the lines flat, tape them together
and place them in the resin. These lines are still clamped off above the
bucket. Clamp the lines to the side of the bucket lightly so the lines
don’t jump out. -
Turn on the piston pump and the small black pump. Take off the
duckbills from the vacuum lines. (The bags must hold vacuum
before you have turned on the pumps for this last time) Remove
the duckbills from the resin lines. -
The infusion will go quickly so keep an eye on the cup of resin
and don’t let the lines suck air, tip the bucket. -
When the resin has reached the opposite side of the lay up,
It may or may not completely wet out the breather spring.
If it looks like the resin is moving unevenly clamp the line
to control it. -
When the infusion is complete clamp off the resin lines first and then
the piston pump lines. Leave the small pump on until the resin is cured.
Take the remaining resin in the cup and set it on the bag to monitor the
cure time. Put the heat lamps on it for 2 hours, 12 inches away should be good. Let it cool down fully and debag. Use wood wedges to separate the
mold at the sloped flange and the sides. It should come out easy. You can
use compressed air as well. Now trim it to the scribe lines.
