adding decorative graphics in mold?

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#1

sorry this may not require its own thread, but i want to get as much input as i can. so i finally am producing brooms the way i want to! i added a heating blanket to warm my tool to approximate 80 degrees to aid in the curing. i also made this last part at 120psi bladder pressure, and ended up with a light, stiff, strong - almost completely void-free part. (still some pinhole sized inclusions, but very few and far between.

anyways, i would like to add a graphic to my part, and have it cure into the epoxy while in the mold. does anyone have any experience with this?

see the photoshop version to get the idea.


i am picturing peel away sticker type graphics being placed in the bottom of the mold, and then hopefully having them become infused into the part. anyways, if you have any thoughts on the matter, i am all ears. for example, would i use a bit of peel ply under the part with the lettering placed on it. would that allow the letters to become encapsulated in the resin matrix?

thanks in advance,
drew

#2

machine the logo or graphics into the mold, maybe just .010" or less… then you could hand paint the lettering on the finished part.

my thoughts are vinyl lettering in the mold may get overheated and distorted or may not hold up to the epoxy.

#3

Or use printed glass veil, or even printed paper (laser printed it will hold)

#4

Depending on the resin…try a plastic film like PSU or PES, that is laminated with your logo. Place it in the mold, do your stuff and see if it works. Go with 1-3mil thick at most. Those 2 plastics actually infuse into the epoxy at higher temps during cure.
Else, engrave the mold, and paint over it? You can try other ways, like PSA stickers on the fabric, and then infuse, etc.

Lovely part though!

#5

Are these for curling? Otherwise that has to be the most elaborate shop broom ever made.

#6

nope not for curling, but a similarly quirky sport, broomball - much like hockey, except you run on the ice instead of skate.

you can check out the wiki page for a little bit of a primer. broomball

#7

The sport is brutal, it basically amounts to a free for all on ice. Tons of fun though!

#8

i have been adding gfx to my parts for a while, i will put up a pic soon…

i use a stencil to spray black or gold paint on the the un-clear coated part or on top of the resin. it works well enough for now

#9

Can I ask how these were made?

#10

There’s lots of detail in this thread
http://compositescentral.net/showthread.php?t=4390

#11

herman - what do you mean by “printed glass veil” can you elaborate, send me some links?

#12

I have seen printed paper business cards or logos on the backside of fiberglass/cf parts. Can’t be a plastic that won’t “melt” into the resin… you need that.

#13

As said, try plain printed paper from your copier. You just run into trouble when trying to do white text, so try and avoid that.

As for printed glass veil: No pictures on any website, I will post some pages of my (new, not even printed yet) catalogue.

It is made in India, I guess that is the only country having the technology, and enough people to clean out the printing machine after every yard or so.

#14

Ah, I wouldn’t have guessed that one… I thought it was a lacrosse shaft. Then again, I bet they are the exact same dimensions.

#15

If you use paper, or plastic…you might find some specialty ink for an inkjet that is more bold and will stick out more. Like, for wet conditions, or…black paper! shrugs

#16

also can i ask why a hex shape? (if that what the broom is) what reasons have u chose that shape for
regards

#17


MC Logo in composites by dobsonm, on Flickr

Something like this. Its a panel on a Swift race car that I looked after a few years ago. The panels came from Motorsports Composites in the states. they laminated there logo and contact details into the backside of the laminate. Im not sure how they did this.

I had been thinking a ink stamp that they put onto a very fine weave e-glass, but that would smudge as you layed it up wouldnt it?

#18


Dallara parts label2 by dobsonm, on Flickr


Dallara parts label by dobsonm, on Flickr

This is the other type of parts label that I have seen quite a few times. It is bonded to the panel after manufacture. They write the part No. and Serial No. onto the label before covering it with a clear tape that seeps to be holding the label on. Near impossable to pull the label off tho.

Something that is also used in the aircraft industry perhaps TET can tell us?

#19

I’m not sure if this would work for this application, because this veil needs a white background. But have you seen http://www.fibreglast.com/category/Chromaveil ? I have used the cherry wood and it looked good on the sample piece I tried. (See crappy cell phone pic below) I don’t see it on there web site or catalog anymore, but I know they used to and probably still do make custom Chromaveil. You just send them your image and tell them what you want the repeat spacing to be. You could get your logo on 1-2 yards printed repeating, then just cut each one out to place in mold.

You could also get pre-cut sticker templates like a painter at a graphics shop would use to mask off areas they don’t want painted. That is whats used to mask off the rest of my rotorblades so the tips can be colored. Then you just paint on your colored resin, wait till it gets tacky and then lay your shaft in the mold.

#20

And some boat manufactures do the pre-cut masking sticker for graphics on the hull/deck when they spray the gel-coat.