What CF sheet to use for 1/8 buggy chassis????
 

looking around there are soooooo many diffrent styles/weaves/BS floating around, I confused:neutral:

doesn't need to be super cheap, but I want 2 chassis for <$150

I found this on ebay....
http://cgi.ebay.com/Red-Carbon-Fiber...4.c0.m14.l1262

If you can get 2 chassis out of the 12x24 size then go for the 4.4mm stuff. The 3.5mm *might* be too flexible without an upper deck. Seems like a decent product and the seller has an awesome rating. Not a bad price, either.

I would get thicker stuff also. I made a t-maxx chassis out of 3mm and it flex quite a bit. Boy was it lite though.

Is that CF panel bi-directional weave or quasi-isotropic weave ?. The quasi-isotropic is a much stronger panel & is the strongest you can get ( to my knowledge) . Most rc cars touring offroad & pan cars are made of bi directional CF . Because dont need the stiffness of a quasi-isotropic panel .

its ebay CF....

I see that the "dragon plate" cf is quasi-isotropic but there has to be something cheaper out there...

Cheap CF is cheap for a reason . Quality Cf is not cheap . A member here i cant remember his name but will try to find out . He had a quality CF panel made by DA graphite . I belive this is the gentleman i was refuring to .

http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21171

Have you thought of using titanium? Its not as light as cf or aluminum but if its milled properly can be as light and way stronger. Aircraft use the stuff for a reason in their airframes.

I belive a titanium panel would cost alot more than a CF panel .

:gasp::surprised:

any reputable online sites I should be looking at??

DA Graphite does make quasi-iso laid-up panels. Been using their stuff for 25 years and couldn't recommend it more.

It is more expensive than that stuff you linked. You can also find them on e-bay under user name graphite-gurl. That's his wife selling his panels.

Sierra Composites (I recently bought some CF angle from them, good quality)

http://www.sierracomposites.com/category-s/24.htm

Dragon Plate

http://www.dragonplate.com/ecart/categories.asp?cID=75

looks like dragon plate it is then...


just to make sure, I can put the chassis kickup in buy heating it with a heat gun and bending it, right?

While a few on this forum have had luck with that, any composites manufacturer will tell you no and that it has to be molded in. The set epoxy is not a thermoformable material.

how hard is it to "make" your own CF sheets by using CF fabric??:neutral:

It would be cheaper to buy the sheet all ready made . Plus if you dont know how do it properly. you will not have a good panel .

I've done it a couple times and it's not that hard, but rchippie is right, your first couple will be considered sacrificial. You could practice on a cheaper fabric such as fiberglass until you get the feel for spreading the epoxy. Google it and there are tons of how to pages. You can build your own form from something as simple as wood and start with laying up wet (of course you'd need a release mechanism in place, etc.). From there, to experiment with vacuum bagging, you can buy yourself a used Foodsaver vacuum sealer at a garage sale for about ten bucks and use it to vacuum bag your own parts. The results are almost as good as the real thing, for a lot less money.

is it better to lay my own, or cut it out and "heatbend" it?:neutral:

Hmmm, depends how much confidence you have in yourself really... if you are good enough, you could make anything out of CF almost, and make it look good as well. But the more complex the shape, the less appealing it will appear just because of limitations on getting the surface epoxy just right.

I think there is a reason why not very many people have attempted a CF chassis, mainly because of getting the piece bent, namely the kick-up angle. I would think it would weaken the epoxy, and thus the 'composite' strength by the heating and bending.

I wonder if a Teflon mold would work for getting the angle of kickup right if laying your own CF fabric?

only one way to find out... thank goodness that ebay CF is "cheap":whip:

why could'nt you use the originale chassis as a mold if your going to lay your own CF ?. Just put masking tape on the chassis as a mold release .

I could... but then I have to make my own CF:drunk:

Maybe you can call a couple of the CF dealers & see if they can mold you a CF chassis of your aluminum chassis .

You could, but the bend radius would be just a bit off (either larger or smaller depending on whether you used the top or bottom). Plus you want to make your blank bigger than the final piece and cut to final dimensions--that would be difficult to do that way. It's fairly easy to make one out of wood. Assuming you're using MDF, with some lacquering and a mold-release coat the finish would be good enough in the CF (though not as good as these glossy ones--you'd need highly polished aluminum or glass for that), and it would be strong enough to hold up to the vacuum if you decide to try that out.

now there's an idea....



:sleep:

whats wrong with useing a heat gun?? its only the front kickup....:neutral:

yeah, but that front kick-up plays a big roll in the handling of the vehicle, you get it wrong, and it handles like bettie crocker on roller blades.

so I'll bend a pice of sheet metal to the exact angle....

It needs to be more rigid than just sheet metal. A nicely bent piece of 1/8" minimum (for wet layup, thicker for vacuum bagging) aluminum will do the trick.

At that point of expense, assuming you're trying to do it cheaply, cut and sanded MDF would serve you better.

Or you can just try the heat gun:lol:

whitrzac, I'd run with the CF advice you're getting here...all good from my 15yrs+ experience with the stuff

Depending on your manufacturing process, the mould doesn't have to be rigid at all. I've made an angled plate by applying two 2 mm steel plates to the original chassis with pieces of tacky tape (like chewing gum) put into the counter-sunk holes. The lay-up was CF prepreg twill and UD and the vacuum bag held everything together.

http://home.datacomm.ch/htrainer/CFRP_plate_side.jpg

If I was really serious about making a good CF chassis plate for an electric car, I'd use two angled steel plates for moulds and a sandwich lay-up with CF prepreg face sheets.

ok, ok... I'll try my hand at making my own CF...:sleep:

what resin, what CF fabric, how many layers, how to apply the resin, how to vacum pack, mold release, etc????:neutral: I have some 5mm alloy leftover from another project that I can bend, but not enough to make 2 "molds"

I think I can dig up our old vacum packer...


what about using one of those "space bags" that you hook a vacum up to and they shrink?

that chassis is off a TT eb4-S3, right??:lol:

You need a pump not a vacuum cleaner, you'll burn the vacuum out in a few hours

Have a look at this link http://www.instructables.com/id/Vacuum-bagging-basics./ kind of how we do things (I work with boats) but the lamination/prepreg is relatively easy, getting the vacuum pump system working properly can be a bit fiddly for the first time

that looks an aful lot like using a "foodsaver" vac sealing thingy...

A real vacuum pump WILL out perform the Foodsaver. The Foodsaver just works really well for the money. Besides, I think PBO was just responding to your idea of those storage bags that you vacuum (with a Hoover) the air out of.

creative juices flowing again:gasp:


what about a"hybred" chassis???? alloy front part with kickup and CF the rest of the way. think old RC10 cars:wink:

That would work. Mill both the CF and the aluminum to 1/2 thickness (or bend the aluminum to accept the CF in the bend--ship-lap style) and use some Scotch Weld 2216 at the joint. Make the joint under the steering posts so it's clamped together as well.

Kind of makes you see why the RC10 Graphite had the kick-up molded in:yes:

i thought about that days ago... if you can't bend carbon fiber, use aluminum!
I´m planning on doing a cf chassis for my d8, but the front part it´s bent upwards, so why not use both???

That is basically what MR comstructor does with some of his chassis . But it just looks so much better when it's all one piece.

bringing this thread back up...


whats the best way to cut CF???:neutral:

I have access too
dremal: mabey the multisaw atachment, or carbide bit??
hacksaw: blades??
bandsaw: IDK if the teeth will last
CNC router: only has 1/2in collet and bits are $$$$$$
mabet a CNC mill too


my personal thought was the dremal multisaw attachment, and a realy fine blade....

The cnc router with a diamond bit designed for fiberglass would be the ultimate. Whatever method you choose (and they'll all work about the same, other than the cnc) make sure you wear proper breathing protection. Carbon dust is NASTY stuff.

I used a band saw with a fine tooth blade and it worked awesome.