any one have carbon fiber?
Guys,
as it hapens I own a composites company that deals exclusivly in carbon composites.I manufacture for the marine industry and specilize in VARTM molding (vacuum assisted resin transfer molding)
Burntorange70:carbon fiber (not graphite fiber) weighs 70% of what glass fiber does, It also has a tensile strength five times that of steel.
On average it will cost 1.5-10 times what glass does. One of the factors is the finess of the weave. Beyond a point the finer the weave the more expensive. It is also priced by weight oz./sq.yard or gm./sq. meter.
The size of the weave is indicated by the Yarn (bundle/ deneir) size.
For example you can get 8k/12oz fabric for around 8-10 bucks a yard.
The final exterior ply, under the release face, I use on some of my parts is 1K/3oz cloth at 70$ per yard.
71Dustar is using 50K fabric which has 50,000 filiments per thread.
The problem he is having is not a surprise. The bundle size makes it stiff and a plain weve dosn't help either. I would suggest going to a herring bone, 3 harness satin, or a lighter weave. The second thing is that what ever you are wrapping you should be vacuum bagging both for adheasion and looks.This will push the fabric and resin against the part and pullout the air.
As it happens I will be bagging a new headliner for the duster using these methods.
There are links at my web site for all the supplies, about a shortage I dont know I usally get what ever I order fairly quickly.
Andrew
www.a-c-designs.com
there are two portals one I am starting to rebuild for the duster and the other for the composites just click on the logo and it will take you to the site