Interesting and check out those mold pics… VERY NICE! They use a removeable latex bladder inside the mold lay up.
http://www.compositesworld.com/articles/small-scale-blade-manufactured-via-bladder-molding.aspx
Thanks for the link, interesting ariticle id be interested in finding out where to get the materials to manufacture similar bladders for smaller parts.
Good article. The process is quite similar to how one of my customers is producing wind turbine blades. The tooling and finished product look good.
But I question some of the techniques! Using a pick up truck as an anchor as an on-going testing procedure is hardly professional. Not to mention the guys handling prepreg without gloves, contaminating themselves and the material!
As for the inflatable bladders, they’re not easy to produce. We make them in various materials, and they require large equipment. What size/shape are you looking for?
i wanna experiment with some ghetto bladder procedures. out of curiosity, how much pressure do you inflate them to?
I have seen mfg say 35-60psi and then some other mfg say 150psi.
Most of our bladders are used at 80-100 psi at 250-350*F. Some of the large ones we make and use are quite thick, and wouldn’t conform very well at less than 50 psi.
hahaha… “ghetto bladder” funny
How many pulls can one of your bladders take TET? Say the bladder is a decent thickness.