Week 14 - Composites
assignment
design and fabricate a 3D mold (~ft2), and produce a fiber composite part in it
Mking a mini roof for the electronics of my final project.
My objective in this assignment was to build a roof for the electronic part of my final project, because it has to be in the outdoors, next to a fogcatcher.
I designed the mold in Autodesk Fusion 360. I cut it in the laser cut machine, and assembly my little roof. Just presfitting the curve pieces in parallel with the basis.
Once the roof was built, I put a plastic wrap daubed with vaseline, to prevent my object sticks to the mold in the base. Then I put a linen.
I used POX BAK, an epoxy multi porpose resin. It has to be mixeded with its catalyst. The propotions are 100:20 or 5:1.
Taking care that i had only of 30 minutes before it starts solidifying.
First I put a layer of linnen and dipped it with the resin. Then place a woolen cloth. In each layer I was applying resin and verifying that the fabrics are well daubed with it.
Allowed to dry for 4 hours and then smoothing the edges.
The final little roof. The results is that between linen and wool material, there was not a good contact or pressure, so they separated in the segment we see in the picture.
Conclusions and Recomendations
Use a material to avoid material get stuck, vaselina or other similar material could be used.
The problem I had could be avoided using two molds, one in each side of the roof.
Other experiments
I wanted to make some experiments with the POX BAX resine. The results are here:
An wool flower and natural leaves composition for a decorative frame.
An abstract try for decorative purposes, using wool threads, linen and leather in a wire mesh.
A flower vase, made with leaves and flowers made of wool and decorative glass pieces.
And this objet, builded originally in simple carboard, but then rolld with peruvian wool threads. The outcome was nice. This is just a prototype, that can be builded in l bigger shape, and meshes can be instaled into its faces.
