Thread: Carbon Fibre

some in darwin , but the resin i use is 120mpa and will blunt a cutting bit pretty quick, and not much flat stock off cuts , most my carbon fibre is moulded into shape , diamond grinding burr's " grind " it well with coolant

what were you after , flat sheet ,"3k twill weave" ? ( most common ) how thick ? how big ?
i make most my bulk fibre out of 12k tow ,using 3k twill weave as a top layer for looks only ,manly so the strength is in the direction i want

cheers ken

just looked in the shed , have a dud (well my 3rd attempt ) violin bottom plate ( too thin ) 3-5 layers 3k twill about 3/4of a mm thick , about A4 size , but shaped not flat , but you can cut flattish bits out of it
looks like my first batch of resin witch was 60mpa ( only as hard as concrete)

im your address and ill send it off

Hi Ken,

Thanks for your info on the carbon fibre you are making, a friend wants me to try and fashion some heel gaurds for his motorbike and they will need to be around 3 mm thick.

I was just trying to source some local off cuts , thanks for your offer but 3/4mm thick is no good.

Cheers Gary

the making of carbon fibre is really quite simple , the simpelest way is the same as fibre glass , but with better quality materials

3k twill is sold by the meter on ebay , i got a heap (20lm) for $20 a m^2 out of melasia , (dont pay more than $40m^2) ,the only seller of carbon fibre in Darwin charges $160 m^2
the resin is important , dont use fibre glass resin from "diggers" as its not an epoxy , west system 107 is a good place to start , and is a dam good glue to have in the work shop

for a guard , i would use Kevlar as it is more impact resistant than carbon fibre , same story , use it the same as fibre glass , and is easy to get hold of ,
the harder the resin the better strength and the manufacturer of " west system " epoxys makes some great carbon fibre resins , ask for a product catalogue at the west system reseller

there are several ways to make " composites "
1) WET LAYUP ;wet down the fabric with a paint brush , and build up the layers , ( the use of a vacuum bag is normal to squeeze out the excess resin , and make the part as light as possible , but it will work with out it )

2) INFUSION , laying up all the layers dry , placing in a vacuum bag , then adding the resin via a tap ( good on large jobs where cure time will be a hindrance) west sytem 107 is too thick for infusion , i use this method

3) PREPREG , the processional way , the material come pre resined with a high temp set resin , and once layer out ,it needs heat and pressure in an autoclave to turn it hard ( not for the hobbiest )

Kevlar has better ware resistance than carbon fibre and better impact resistance, and penetration resistance ( even fibre glass stands up to ware better than carbon fibre )

carbon fibre is only good at tension , and dose it real well

there composites , one product wont do it all , a mix of " bullet proof " Kevlar , over a carbon core would be unbreakable , and you can even purchase 50/50 Kevlar/ Carbon cloth on eBay that comes in a few different colours Carbon Fiber Kevlar hybrid Cloth fabric Twill (3K) 100cm x30.5cm (39"X12") plain | eBay

cheers ken

forgot to mention that Carbon Fibre conduits electricity , so its dust is not only harmful to humans , if a fibre of dust gets into your electronics IT WILL SHORT IT OUT

cheers ken

I purchased carbon fibre from these guys when making my Dark Knight suit.

Carbon fiber Australia

Cheers
Brad.