Carbon Fiber Rocket Tube Manufacturing (Wet Layup)
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Music - Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (Walter Wanderley)
Here’s a quick timelapse of one of my rocket tube’s fabrication.
A 2-part medium cure laminating epoxy was applied as a base layer on the mandrel with a layer of non-stick plastic in between. Each passing layer of carbon fiber fabric was then saturated with the epoxy. The secondary spool in which the fabric unrolls was used to ensure that the lay up was tight and that there’s no distortion throughout the length. The wet tube was then wrapped with peel ply and wetted out to absorb any excess epoxy.
A lot of initial tests were done prior to this to gain more lay-up experience, refine the process, and obtain the experimental epoxy+resin consumption ratio. I tried using a vacuum bag once, but ridges were formed due to the second spool not being there to keep things tight. It was also mind bogglingly difficult to remove the cured tube from the mandrel. At the end, this was the most consistent and there wasn’t much difference in wall thickness.
This is great! Loved it ❤
Hey Julian. Nice vid! I m from a college rocketry team in New Zealand. Quick question what type of plastic did u use between the mandrel n the wet lay? We have only used mylar.
Hey. It’s clear polyester plastic from McMaster Carr. The product is called Moisture Resistant Polyester Film.
Julian-nice video..how does a shrinking epoxy laminate not grip the form? I need to build a 12'. What is the mandrel?
no vacuum or no wrap ?? just peel ply ??
Yes. I tried to vacuum bag a section but it was damn near impossible to remove. I’d rather have an ever so slightly eccentric tube rather than having one stuck.
what is used to cover the composite lay after application of resin material?
Peel ply. It’s meant to soak up excess epoxy resin, but I use it primarily to ensure a consistent finish before one last epoxy coat for gloss.
Didn't really like this vid. I'm a novice high power guy and would've liked some explanation of process and layers.
This isn’t a tutorial. There are many ways to go about this, it’s just how I’ve done it. Jim Jarvis has a really good technical document online that got me started. I suggest reading it.