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VIDEO TUTORIAL

Hoe maak je een complexe uit meerdere delen bestaande mal voor composieten?

Follow this step by step guide to take a composite pattern and create a precise, multi-part split-mould for fibreglass/GRP/FRP/composites.

If you want to make a copy of an existing part (or original design pattern) in a composite material such as fibreglass or carbon fibre then you will need to take moulds from the original part or pattern.

Sometimes, the shape of the part that you want to copy means that you can't make a simple one-piece mould and in this case you will need to make a multi-part 'split mould' which can be bolted together to lay-up the part and then unbolted and split apart to remove the part.

If you're not familiar with the techniques for making a multi-part mould then this process can be quite daunting but in this professional video tutorial we take you through the complete process, from start to finish, demonstrating the best practices for producing a multi-part split mould. In this video we create a 3-part split-mould for the airbox pattern that we made in our Composite Pattern Making Tutorial.

UITSPLITSING TUTORIAL

1. Mould release agents

Tijdens het maken van mallen komt het vaak voor dat u uw originele onderdelen of patroon moet voorbereiden met een 'lossingsmiddel' om te voorkomen dat de nieuwe malmaterialen aan uw onderdeel blijven plakken of zelfs aan de nieuwe flenzen van andere onderdelen van de gesplitste mal. In deze handleiding gebruiken we Easy-Lease Chemical Release Agent voor een betrouwbare, gemakkelijke lossing.

INLEIDING

1. Working with temporary barriers

Op verschillende momenten tijdens het maken van de mal moeten we tijdelijke barrières plaatsen rond ons patroon of onderdeel om flenzen te maken op de malsecties en om splitlijnen te maken die we nodig hebben. Tijdelijke barrières kunnen worden gemaakt met behulp van Fluted Sign Board (zoals we deden in deel 1 van onze Carbon Fibre Bonnet Making tutorial), of met behulp van een gladder, steviger materiaal zoals de polypropyleenplaat die we in deze tutorial gebruiken.

Over het algemeen worden bij het maken van splitmallen tijdelijke barrières gebruikt om de flenzen voor een deel van de mal te maken, maar deze worden verwijderd zodra dat deel van de mal is uitgehard, zodat het volgende deel van de splitmal de nieuwe flens van het eerste deel van de mal kan gebruiken als barrière om zijn eigen flens te maken. Dit zorgt ervoor dat de verschillende delen van de mal perfect samenkomen. Wanneer de flens van een vorig deel van de mal wordt gebruikt als barrière om de flens van een nieuw deel te maken, is het natuurlijk heel belangrijk om meerdere lagen lossingsmiddel op de flenzen aan te brengen (alsof het een nieuwe mal is).

UITSPLITSING TUTORIAL

1. Using filleting wax

Tijdens het hele proces wordt fileerwas gebruikt om openingen tussen barrières en het onderdeel op te vullen en om zachtere radii te creëren waar dat nodig is. Fileerwas wordt ook gebruikt om 'registratiepunten' te maken die op barrières of flenzen worden geplaatst om bijpassende mannelijke en vrouwelijke nokken te maken die helpen om de verschillende delen van de mal nauwkeurig te lokaliseren, zodat ze perfect uitgelijnd zijn.

2. Uni-Mould mould making materials

In deze tutorial worden alle drie de delen van de meerdelige mal gemaakt met behulp van ons Uni-Mould Universal Mould Making System. Uni-Mould is een speciaal gereedschapssysteem dat compatibel is met de breedst mogelijke reeks processen, betrouwbaar loslaat van de meeste materialen inclusief polyester, vinylester en epoxy patronen en vervolgens gebruikt kan worden om onderdelen te maken met elk van deze harssystemen.

We verkopen het Uni-Mould systeem in een complete starterkit inclusief alle harsen, katalysator, gehakt glas en lamineergereedschap of alle individuele onderdelen kunnen apart worden gekocht. Voor gedetailleerde informatie over het gebruik van het Uni-Mould systeem zie onze Uni-Mould Voordelen en Lamineerhandleiding PDF.

3. Use with prepregs

Hoewel het mogelijk is om Uni-Mould mallen te gebruiken met prepregs die buiten de autoclaaf (ovenhardend) zijn gemaakt (zoals XPREG® XC110), raden we Uni-Mould mallen niet langer aan voor dit doel.

In plaats daarvan - voor prepreg gebruik - worden betere resultaten bereikt met hoge temperatuur epoxy matrijzen gemaakt met behulp van ons EG160 / EMP160 gereedschapssysteem of XPREG® XT135 Tooling Prepreg. Met deze hoge temperatuur epoxy gereedschapssystemen kan de prepreg worden uitgehard op de optimale temperatuur van 120°C. Dit verkort de uithardingstijd en verbetert de mechanische eigenschappen van het onderdeel. Bovendien blijkt epoxygereedschap te resulteren in een betere oppervlakteafwerking met prepregs zoals XPREG® XC110.

DISCUSSIE (18)

Laat het ons weten als je vragen of opmerkingen hebt over deze videotutorial.

Blender Physics2022

Are plies always hand drawn and hand cut like this? Or would you normally use CAD drawings and laser cutters produce these stencils of carbon fibre?

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

That really depends on the production volumes. For relatively low production volumes, for example if you're making a few of these parts at a time or make them infrequently then you probably wouldn't go to the trouble of CNC cutting the plies, however, for larger volumes, if you have the equipment (a CNC cutter using a drag knife, not a laser cutter) then it's quite common to CNC cut the plies (which can also be numbered by the CNC at the same time). Often, these pre-cut 'kits' of all the different plies required for a component are bagged together and re-frozen ready for future use.

BenTV2020

Hi what's your opinion on PVA release agent? I like to spray it on my bucks & moulds & haven't found anything else you can put through a gun.

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

For the transition from a pattern to a mould PVA can sometimes be the right choice, particularly on a pattern or mould with a dubious surface where getting a good release is in doubt. Personally I'm not a fan of the finish that PVA leaves on the pattern, resulting in too much work to restore a good finish. Our approach would be to use a reliable coating material on the pattern, so that the release is assured, and then use a release agent such as wax or chemical release agent (such as Easy-Lease) which will leave a better finish on the mould.

Louvin Rivard

Why don't you degas the gelcoat?

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

There's no need to degas the gelcoat when applied carefully in this way. Also, because the gelcoat is vinylester it has a styrene solvent content, this solvent content will boil off under vacuum and so the gelcoat would appear to bubble indefinitely, all the while the gel would be becoming thicker as the styrene boiled off.

Sharoan Thomas

Can you make carbon fibre parts in a fibreglass mould?

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

So, by 'Fibreglass' mould I'm going to assume you mean a conventional polyester resin, polyester gelcoat and chopped strand mat. If you're going to use epoxy resin to make your carbon fibre parts (which is the most suitable resin system for carbon fibre) then it has a nasty habit of 'sticking' in polyester gelcoated moulds, even when they've been prepared with a release agent. If possible, it's far better to make the moulds using a vinylester gelcoat or an epoxy gelcoat which epoxy resin will release from very reliably.

Uriah Siner

Could this process be used to make my own carbon wheels?

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

Out-of-autoclave prepreg carbon fibre could, in theory, be used to produce carbon fibre wheels however, as components go, this is not really an appropriate starting point for a number of (hopefully) obvious reasons. If you do gain skills and experience making more straightforward components first then you would be in a better position to know whether wheels would be a suitable project.

Wajdi Rebei

Is it possible to make carbon fibre parts using moulds made from Styrofoam?

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

Is possible to use Styrofoam to create your pattern but you need to be aware the polyester and vinylester resins will attack (and melt) Styrofoam so, if you're going to use either of these resin systems for your mould, you will need to protect the Styrofoam from them. To do this, you can 'scrim' your Styrofoam pattern using epoxy resin (which won't attack Styrofoam) and a lightweight woven glass cloth. This can then be flatted and polished ready to take your mould off.

neibedepil

Did you apply release agent on the polypropylene form part before gelcoating ? I didn't see it in the video.

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

No, no release agent is needed on the polypropylene - it's totally non-stick to resins like polyester, vinylester and epoxy.

spiritual cramp

can i use the original metal air box as a pattern to make the mould? Any suggestion about particular release agent to use on it?

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

Yes you can use the original airbox as long as it is in good enough condition. You would follow the same process just skipping the carving of the foam, as you already have the basic shape. Use the same Easy Lease release agent as you see used in the tutorial.

Setoain20

How many times will the mold last, in other words, how many pieces can you make with a mold before it starts to have surface imperfections??

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

Treated sensibly you would get hundreds of releases from the mould before it started to show scratches or other signs of damage and deterioration. We use this exact mould system for most of the 'Carbon Mods' brand products that we sell meaning that we have daily production experience going back 7 years. Some moulds we made 7 years ago are still in use today. The great thing about Uni-Mould is that you can flat and polish the surface if it gets stretched or faded and it will be like new. That's why we normally 'double gelcoat' to give ourselves extra repairability.

Spencer Edwards

Hi, I'm using a fairly thin poly tooling gelcoat. Is there a filler that's safe to use for thickening a tooling Gel? I have your fumed silica.

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

Fumed Silica is normally the filler powder of choice when it comes to thickening resins and gels. Start with only a very small percentage as the fumed silica is quite effective but takes a little while to 'develop'.

Matthew Ault

Is it possible to make a rough carbon fibre surface (e.g. from wrapping) glossy, by sanding and adding more resin, or is having a smooth mould the only way to get that smooth shiny glossy surface finish?

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

Ideally a smooth mould will be the quickest way, however you can use the skinning method by coating layers of resin on top of raw cloth. You will need to spend considerable time sanding and smoothing the resin but great results can be achieved with patience.

For the love of life

Can you resin infuse a multi-piece mold? Not a tube like this but for say a lip for a car. I could make it 1pc but the angles of the front are too great to get my hand in there to try and make it look right.

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

Yes you can. By the far the easiest method is to use "envelope bagging" i.e. putting the entire mould into a single bag (like in this video) as it solves issues with trying to seal the join lines on a multi-part mould.

DjCasonDrift

Is there a product that I can use to make high temp parts like exhaust manifold or even turbo down pipe I see a lot of intake manifolds and carbon mufflers any info would be appreciated thanks for an intuitive program keep it coming please

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

We have a high temperature epoxy resin that will, with a post cure, go up to 180°C. That is not massively high but for some exhaust trims can be ok. You will need to measure the actual temperature the part will likely experience to decide if it is a suitable resin for you.

IrishPalestinian

Is it possible to combine a mold similar to this, maybe two-part, with vacuum resin infusion? I haven't done prepreg and have done infusion. I want to end up with a hollow part (an intake primary plenum) with a slot like yours but narrower.

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

In theory yes it is. However it will be difficult to ensure the fabric is tightly against the mould surface, and you will have to take plenty of extra care during the vacuum pulling and infusion to ensure you get a good result. Would definitely be a challenge and take some skill!

Jente Ameye

Is there a reason for the use of PP sheet to make the split line of the mould? I want to make one for my master thesis as well and have a lot of PVC sheets here, should it be feasible with PVC or does it react with the gel coat or other coatings?

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

Hi Jente, we use polypropylene sheet because it has great self-release properties (doesn't need any release agent) PVC will also work in a similar way (it shouldn't react with the gel-coat) but I would advise a coat of release agent to ensure easy removal.

JerseyMikeP

What's the purpose of the 'coupling coat'; why can't you just use regular resin? I would like the least amount of different materials, this allows (me/us low production guys) to by a greater quantity (at a cheaper cost) of the most useful materials?

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

We use a coupling coat because of the high temperature use. For ambient temperature, you wouldn't necessarily need the coupling coat but for high temp you do. The reason is because when laminating the main reinforcement layer, because the resin is filled you can't see through it. If you can't see through it then you can't spot any small pockets of trapped air. If these air pockets are directly against the gel then when the mould is used at temperature the gel will blister. When you use the clear coupling coat and a thin skin of lightweight glass you can ensure that there are no such pockets which means you won't get blisters when the mould hits temperature. There's other reasons too such as the way the coupling coat helps to interface between the VE gel and the filled PY resin but the main reason is to eliminate blisters.

J Dana Clark

How is your tooling gel not absolutely full of porosity, we normally get lots when we spray gelcoat. We also switch colours of tooling gel 1/2 way through the application so that in the future what doing mold repairs we know when we are sanding too far through the gel.

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

I've never experienced the issue with porosity that you're describing. We have a number of tooling gelcoats and I've never encountered this - it might be time to consider changing your tooling gelcoat. It's an option to give yourself more than one gelcoat colour so that you can tell when you've gone down fully through one layer but at the same time it can be visually quite distracting when you're trying to check the perfection of the mould surface after repair or restoration. Personal choice I guess.

Gabriel Morales

At 13:08 you mention that you must make this a 3-piece mold because of 2 parallel sides. Is that because it would be really difficult to remove the master plug if you don't make this mold as 3 parts? Could you install a nipple and use compressed air to remove it from the mould?

Gemakkelijk samenstellenMat

If you have parallel sides on a mould then it will be almost impossible to remove parts from it, even with the use of compressed air. If you do manage to remove the part then it's likely there will be damage to the part and the stress on the mould will reduce its life. It's a much better idea to design a split into the mould for sides even approaching parallel.