Here the CF sitting in the mold.

It never cured in the 2 hour window. I am not sure what went wrong. I made real sure I mixed proper amounts. The only thing I can figure is that it might have been because the heat went out in our building at work yesterday and it was about 55 degrees in there. I thought i could counter it by putting a space heater next to it, but it still hasn't really set ...and that was at 1130 today.
It is starting to get tacky now that I have put it in the house... I may have to try this one again.... no big deal...

Not that I'm advocating we all switch over to CF mufflers, but CF does hold a decided weight advantage over carbon steel and a slight advantage over thin gauge stainless. Are you more a ti guy?

Sherwood

...................oops...forgot the picture...


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/mold 11.jpg

Sherwood,
i have looked into many of these ideas and found most of them are just to expensive to tool up and produce in quanitys for the Porsche public {read, small market}. Racing parts are the only place where most of this stuff makes sense because of the price is no object if it goes fast thinking. Here is part of my list, cf mirror covers,cf rock gaurds, cf targa bar covers, cf sill gaurds and kick plates, cf center consuls,cf targa top, cf caliper covers and the list goes on, most of which are just cosmetic and have no real use .To make one or two of any of these parts at home is'nt that hard but to tool up for production is another thing. The targa cap would be almost a $1500.00 tool cost and i just don"t think the market is big enough. I have spent $ 2000.00 on the FG targa top and have a couple of hundred more untill its ready for production.{this was supposed to be a hobby}
Jerry

CF holds a decided weight advantage only in stiffness . . .steel kicks CF's butt in toughness (per pound).

I'm kind of a "the right materials for the right design" kinda guy. (though I do have a Ti watch and wed-ring -- light and non-allergenic . . gold is just hypo-allergenic) ;)

Lee, the resin is very temperature sensitive, you sould mix a small amout for test and adjust as necessary.
Jerry

Leland, excellent thread. You are forging ahead on the path to World Domination through Superior Technology...

What about carbon/kevlar hybrids? My (half-informed) understanding is that the durability of modern F1 cars comes about partly because they mix cf and kevlar for the best of both worlds. But I have no knowledge what-so-ever with which to evaluate that claim. I just read it somewhere (can't even remember where)...

Well i managed to peel it out of the mold. The epoxy didn't cure properly.

I'll try it again.

It looks like of cool though... it has an aweful finish to it though... very dull and flat.

This is going to take some practice!

First, fiber orientation will be a big player. The direction of the CF may be with the warf and the kevlar with the weave (the 2 directions of a cloth) This will result in very directional properties.

2nd, When you start mixing the two in multiple ply's, you need to beware of the vastly different thermal expansion behavior. It can get really tricky fast.
Ever wonder about plywood always having an odd number of layers? If you have an even number in a sheet, that sheet will warp in no time . . .it will make a "saddle curve" due to the unbalanced expansion.

From what I've seen of F1 cars, they have a very ridged main tub (read: all CF) and extremities, like the nose, energy absorbtion points (kinda the same thinking as SC bumbers ;) )