Vac. Infusion with Chopped Strand Mat?

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#1

Hey experts…what do you think is the maximum distance you could infuse Polyester ISO resin through 2-3 layers of 1.5 oz. chopped strand mat?

I know CSM is not typically used for infusion, but I have a bunch here that I’d like to use up, and I’m only infusing across about 12-18" distance. (top to bottom of a bumper mold), so maybe I could get away with it? Whatya think? I’d rather infuse than hand laminate it. In fact I’d be happy if I never hand laminated anything again :smiley:

Thanks

#2

the binders in the fiberglass really do slow it down, and takes longer to saturate. make sure to use plenty of flow media

#3

Here’s my proposed setup. The resin will feed in along the entire length of the top of the bumper through spiral wrap, and flow down to the bottom spiral wrap.

This way the resin should have to travel no more than about 15" through the CSM (through the center openings section) and 12" everywhere else.

I suppose I could just get the right stuff if this isn’t going to work…

#4

If you’re using the proper flow media on top of your plies, then you shouldn’t have any problems infusing 18". We do it all the time for our tooling, and generally use a multiaxial fabric with CSM backing.

#5

well there is your answer :slight_smile: I have not used chopped strand mat with infusion

#6

Yacht hulls are commonly made using infusion and CSM. But for a small part like a bumper why bother? Infusing something like this is likely to cost more and take a lot longer than hand laminating.

Chris