September 1, 20214 yr Author Now starting with the preparation of the carbon fiber. I have been told that the more accurate the raw material fits the mold the better the final result. So here we go. After spending a few hours to ensure that the template is exact size this is a cutout section of the template on the "mold" prop. The actual blade color is blue can be seen through the cloth,
September 1, 20214 yr Author The carbon fiber I am using is plain weave 400g/m². I will use two layers in the linear direction and then two layers vertical to this fiber direction for strength. The strength of this cloth is in one direction and therefore I am having 4 layers 3 vertically to the direction of the standard cloth
September 1, 20214 yr 4 minutes ago, Erastus said: The carbon fiber I am using is plain weave 400g/m². I will use two layers in the linear direction and then two layers vertical to this fiber direction for strength. The strength of this cloth is in one direction and therefore I am having 4 layers 3 vertically to the direction of the standard cloth Do they sell it per metre? What is the cost?
September 2, 20214 yr Author 19 hours ago, YellowTapemeasure said: Do they sell it per metre? What is the cost? R144 incl Bottom is vertical top is horizontal layer. That stops flexibility in both direction.. What is nice is the off cut pieces is used for additional strengthening.
September 3, 20214 yr @Erastus Wow!!! Congrats, wonderful project - your "blow by blow" is awesome, keep it coming... Just so happens that I have been Youtube'ing for the past few months on this very topic but for me, it is a pipe dream - day job get's in the way of me ever pulling a project like this this off. Based in Durban interior and hope to be completely off grid in the not too distant future. Winter is our best time for Solar but Spring and Summer is challenging in terms of Solar. We can go an entire week with 100% cloud but thankfully we mostly have wind during these times so this is just what i'm looking to add to our setup. Look forward seeing the final product once you have it all wrapped up... 💪
September 7, 20214 yr Author On 2021/09/03 at 7:49 PM, smurfdbn said: @Erastus Wow!!! Congrats, wonderful project - your "blow by blow" is awesome, keep it coming... Just so happens that I have been Youtube'ing for the past few months on this very topic but for me, it is a pipe dream - day job get's in the way of me ever pulling a project like this this off. Based in Durban interior and hope to be completely off grid in the not too distant future. Winter is our best time for Solar but Spring and Summer is challenging in terms of Solar. We can go an entire week with 100% cloud but thankfully we mostly have wind during these times so this is just what i'm looking to add to our setup. Look forward seeing the final product once you have it all wrapped up... 💪 Thanks hope to have it soon. its almost like a job keeps me busy. Edited September 7, 20214 yr by Erastus
September 7, 20214 yr Author Did some shopping today. Got all the goodies to make the first part: For those who are a newbie to carbon fiber like me: The roll on the right white and pink is "peel off ply". The peel off ply is used to give a smooth finish on the no mold side or the back end of the part. The blue section is like a mesh that distributes the resin The roll on the left is the bag that will form the vacuum around the mold. In my case it will be cut in 1/2 and laid over the first section. The spiral to feed the resin to all parts and then the seal of tape. Blue pipe is between the "mold" and the container that holds the mixed resin. That will follow next
September 8, 20214 yr Author First run was a disaster. Everything went everywhere. So I built the vacuum pod and motor to an all in one.
September 8, 20214 yr Author Run a test and now all is working well with as everything is nice and stable and less noise. An easy -80kPa with that small 12V motor. Now for test Nr 2.
September 16, 20214 yr Author Round Nr2. Did some more checks on best practice and got rid of small cuts. Replace the small cut carbon fiber with a triple woven carbon fiber material. Made a new "template" from fabric that does not give way in any direction. Then started the layering processes. sORRY i CAN NO LONGER UPLOAD PICTURES TO SHOW
September 16, 20214 yr 3 hours ago, Erastus said: sORRY i CAN NO LONGER UPLOAD PICTURES TO SHOW How come?
September 17, 20214 yr 12 hours ago, Erastus said: Getting a -200 error Maybe they are too big? Can you post a screenshot? Maybe one of the mods can assist.
September 17, 20214 yr Hi guys. Max upload size for one image is 3Megabyte. If you can shrink them a bit that will be perfect. Sincerely. Jason
September 17, 20214 yr Author 52 minutes ago, Energy-Jason said: Hi guys. Max upload size for one image is 3Megabyte. If you can shrink them a bit that will be perfect. Sincerely. Jason Hi Jason, I have tried to upload a screenshot of 230Kb and even on a new topic it fails.
September 17, 20214 yr Author After struggling with the different small pieces I decided to get a tipple woven carbon fiber for the back pieces. The next was to cut a new template. The template is a fabric that does not stretch in any direction. Now the packing of the different meterials: Layer 1 Uni Directional CF Layer 2 Triple Woven CF Then all the rest: First peel ply Then the "mat" to distribute the resin Followed by the Tube for evenly spreading the resin Then the pipe connector
September 17, 20214 yr Author 9 minutes ago, Energy-Jason said: Thank you. Let me investigate . Jay Thanks its working again posted 1 new and added to this
September 17, 20214 yr Author The following picture shows all the layers closed with the vacuum bag. The white rope is a resin barrier that will fill with resin and stop the resin from entering the vacuum pot. The small pieces of masking tape is used to keep the different layers in position as well as the barrier rope. On the outside of the rope is a very good double sided tape to seal of the bag and create a vacuum container. The vacuum bag is pressed onto the tape to ensure an air tight container. So I am ready for the infusion process Edited September 17, 20214 yr by Erastus missed some stuff
September 25, 20214 yr Author The second try started of well until I applied full vacuum. "Ohhhhhh dearame". Full vacuum highlighted flaws in my "mold". I never worked with vacuum before and am amazed with the strength when continues vacuum gets applied to fiber glass. Thus before I applied resin etc I ran a full vacuum test to check it all. After a few minutes the prop started to show where the week points are and a few wholes in the fiber glass appeared. The vacuum showed all the weakness of the FBG by creating break spots where fiber glass was applied to thin. Recon it is time with the knowledge gain to redo the mold and create a strong multi layer mold. The area in the red circle was ripped from the FBG with full vacuum. Edited September 25, 20214 yr by Erastus
November 30, 20214 yr Author On 2021/11/28 at 11:10 AM, P1000 said: Any updates? Yes here we go. I had to modify my coil winder. When winding the wood was grabbing the spool unwind the bobbin and then unwind the complete spool and then all got stuck. The new mods I put in for the spool was a set of bearings and a new shaft. The spools are very heavy and the motor struggled to pull the copper through the threads: This is the shaft and bearings for the copper spool The bearings created a friction less spool so I used a bolt through the wood and created a break so I can adjust the tension on the copper for the coil/ I have an cloth hanging on it and the other side is against the spool Edited November 30, 20214 yr by Erastus
November 30, 20214 yr Author After the testing I I changed the spool layout to release the coils easier and finally achieved the turning etc I required for the winding process. Now I will start the winding of the coils. The speed is a little slow to my liking but if it works properly I will put a faster motor with a small chain and sprockets to let it run faster. Software I can't show that is done so the breaking system will be via software. Now this is done the struggles with the coils dimensions and final "sizing" is over. The next step once all the coils are done I will calculate the size of the plate for the magnets and get that going... Edited November 30, 20214 yr by Erastus
November 30, 20214 yr Author The issues I had was the all to do with the winding process. I want each coil the same tension, width and windings. The coil length and width is obtained from the size of the magnet. Here I am going for a Ferrite type. Although not as strong as the others these is not so problematic at the coast when it gets to rust. Therefore a different size will create almost the same magnetism as the other magnets. I had the drawings done for the magnet plates and when the coils are done that will provide the final sizing and then the stator plates will get lazer cut ready for the action. Tomorrow the winding process will start. The aim is that each coil on the shorter side will be properly tighten using thin nylon "rope" thing more accurate will be "like rafia". This will tighten the copper wires properly and keep them in place for the vacuum chamber process. Edited November 30, 20214 yr by Erastus
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