HAHA I’m sure that’s a cheap setup. 
die cutting the fabric seems like it would be more hassle then its worth.
i have two presses (“clickers”) which i use to die cut the foam for the masks. i tried using it for fiberglass and carbon once before but it was a bitch. im thinking of converting my cnc machine to cut my fabrics so i dont need to cut them by hand.
even if i could have the openings die cut to make the edges easier to sand it would be a lot of effort to line everything up in my molds, especially since everything is loaded dry. things shift a bit once i pull vacuum.
Yeah, I understand. Keeping everything in place and automated cutting is key with this method.
The introduction of kevlar really complicates finishing across the board. Maybe your time would be better spent on more finish friendly materials; carbon, fiberglass, maybe some infusion friendly core. As one-off’s this wouldn’t be an issue but for production its hard to justify tying yourself to such a tedious process. I’m sure there are other solutions out there.
I work in manufacturing so I get what you’re going through. Just remember the time spent now could pay big dividends over the life of a product.
i just picked up some rovicore. does anyone have experience with it? i also picked up some continuous strand mat. when i weighted my laminate schedule it seems like it would be light enough (385 grams pre trim) but im not sure if it will be strong enough?
if anyone has any info regarding the durability/strength of rovicore/continuous strand mat i could really use some input.
i want to try
rovicore
5oz kevlar
1.5 continuous strand mat
12 oz carbon
(+extra piece of rovicore in chin)
it seems like it will be pretty solid, just not sure how strong it will be
Hey man, nobody said the cheapest way to make it 
Resin rich fabrics like Rovicore and CFM are, in this application, basicly just a resin rich layer, which makes production more easy, but will not bring any strength. It does give thickness, however, so stiffness goes up, but impact strength is the issue here.
How long should these masks survive? Is it acceptable to replace them after a hit?
ideally they would not break. i offer a limited lifetime warranty on my masks so obviously its best if they are solid all round. its also a protective item so i would sleep better at night if the mask were as strong as i possibly could make it.
im worried about delamination. my supplier keeps telling me that if i dont put mat in between the layers of cloth the part will delam. surely it must be possible to laminate several layers of woven fabrics together???
does anyone know a combination of materials that would be on the light side and get up to around 3.5 mm???
have you ever considered prepregs? Those resin systems will be much tougher systems than any room temp infusion system.
Ive experimented with using core materials in an infused goalie mask and I wouldnt recommend it near the surface. I tried using divinymat as well as soric and they delaminate/crack/fail if they are near the first layers. The only success I had with them during my experimentation was to use them close to the last layer ( as far inward) as possible. They do add stiffness but definitely dont seem to stand up to impact (at least not from a puck)
As far as I can think of, if you succeed with using some sort of core, you would be the first commercial manufacturer of masks to do so! Put me down on the waiting list!
All the more reason to do it!
Curious, what were the adjacent layers next to the core? Cloth or mat?
Except for hard armor…which it’s used A LOT for!!!
bagging film has heat stablizers in it, so it might not melt and flow before it burns. But yes, film infusion using any number of plastics would be something to try one day. Nylon, PP, Surlyn, PPS, PES, etc. Of course, all have their own abilities, and have to be processed at at LEAST 280f!!!
Well, if you use injection molding. Thenyou can have fiber filled resins, be it glass, carbon, or kevlar! But using a thermoplastic film or a prepreg would achieve the needed results. Some plastics are made for impact resistance! Of course, there are toughened thermoset prepregs like Cytec’s 977-3 system.
Im told and it seems adding carbon and any other later like kevlar or innegra will fail on compression no matter what. Maybe you need co mingled fibers or a layup that won’t show the delam.
So what layup did you end up going with?