Hi Ive been working with carbon fiber over the past few months and here I would like to give some tips Ive found helps with handing carbon fiber and how easy it can be to make a carbon fiber part
First off why use carbon fiber?
Strengths:
stronger then most metals
Id say I use it for its amazing strength to weight ratio, It is five times stronger than steel and two times as stiff
So in robotics this means a stronger though lighter robot, increasing run times.
**
weakness:**
harder to work with
gets carbon dust everywhere
slightly conductive
expensive compared to most metals
I think that the price is worth it for what you can build with carbon fiber, lightweight beadle battle bots, flying tri-choppers, and one I will be showing you about in this guide a Li-ion battery skid plate for a new project of mine.
First off supplies its going to cost you but you will have fun with what you can do
716-38 GRAPHITE FIBER 716 38"wide, a yard or so long $23.75
01-08200 WEST SYSTEM EPOXY KIT A-2 SLOW $40.50
paper cups $2
Popsicle sticks and or bamboo skewers $2
kitchen digital scale $20-30
sandpaper $2
website I get my carbon fiber and epoxy. aircraftspruce.com/
Onto the steps on laying up a part its super easy.
On to the fun part all your stuff came in the mail finally, note shipping is expensive on epoxy its hazards and all
First find a nice clean flat surface in a well ventilated area.
don a face mask ,safety glasses and gloves
Throw a cup on the digital scale and tare it so that we take out the cups weight as we will be working with a small amount of epoxy at first.
Pour 2 grams of hardener then 10 grams of resin if you are using the epoxy I’m above, follow the directions for different epoxy. should be a 12gram batch.
Now stir the epoxy till its well blended be careful not to get to many bubbles in the epoxy .
Coat the item and or parchment paper with some epoxy 1-2 grams at most. I put a strip of paper on the terminals just in case
cut three strips of carbon fiber in different ways on the main role a bit bigger then what you are covering 1/4 to a half inch on the sides
Lay down the first layer and then press with the stir rod still it is flat to the surface and it is saturated.
Repeat for the next two or how ever many layers you want its good to have the fiber weaves switch direction every layer to add more strength to the part.
Now wait for it to dry you can throw it in the oven on really low if you want it to go faster though slow drying is better.
Then trim around the part. your all done you made a carbon fiber part. \o/
Tip Taping up the unused carbon fiber cloth with a thin strip of masking tape will ensure it does not unravel on you.
If you have any questions just ask
Pictures below
DoCDoC
