diy carbon fibre
 

I'm thinking of getting a diy carbon fibre kit and was wondering do you need to make your own moulds or can you use the existing parts to make it. Also where is the best placeto get a kit

may i ask what diy means sory im not englisch

What are you planning on making? Moulds are you usually the better option id imagine, but ive never tried.... Wouldnt mind having a go though :thumbsup:

DIY = do it yourself ;)

DIY: Do it Yourself ...

As far as CF goes 'normal parts' are not usually moulded. They are cut from Sheet. Shock Towers, braces, chassis etc all are cut mainly. So you would make up some sheet, layer upon layer.

Moulding parts...well that's very dependent on the part, not many parts on any car are moulded CF, Usually Graphite re-enforced injection moulded ABS resin.

And to do moulding you need a mould yes, original parts could be used as positives to create the moulds. But the mould material would be dependant on the material you are using. Injection moulding as a rule requires Alloy or metal molds, alloy parts you could use casting sand and CF would probably work with 2 part pour mix resin, and then you apply layer after layer in the mould.

J

i was thinking of maybe making CF chassis and arms and maybe thinking of making a CF wing as im always going through wings

get a LMR wing, very strong, iv crash tested mine loads:woot:
http://www.modelcarsreading.com/prod...ategory_id=586

A CF chassis yes :) cut from sheet and mill\dremel supporting parts. I'd not make arms from CF as you want a little flex. And remember moulding CF is not like moulding plastic, it's not a liquid, it's a weave of fiber and resin layers that you press and form just like fiber glass. You don't pour it.

Use material where it's most suited. a CF wing on an RC car is a waste of money and you'll find it so thin that it would just snap. CF has little to no flex that's why it makes good Towers and chassis but would make terrible arms and wings as it would be stiff and brittle, I'd put money on a wing disintegrating during the first drive.

Hope that helps

J

cheers guys. This is why i love this site everyone is so helpful and never condescending.

So what wings are the strongest apart from the Electra one already mentioned

I always found the hotbodies wings to be very strong if you can still get them.

Yes you can m8, got both sizes in stock :thumbsup:

I'm using the Ansmann Smacker Solid Wing, it's 2mm ABS and is indestructible, acts like a roll cage for my X-Pro :). It comes in White, Black, Blue and Green. You will need to make some new mount holes..but that's it.

J

In the old days you could buy carbon fibre wings, these were made from prepreg in an autoclave though, not just laying carbon on a mould and brushing on resin. They were pretty tough. They certainly didn't disintegrate during the first drive, after all carbon shock towers don't disintegrate either. Didn't get damaged at all if you were using them on a Schumacher.

The downside is that although pretty light they were much heavier than lexan wings, and the last thing you want is a lot of weight high up.