Week 14 Composites

This week we are going to experiment with composites

For the third try I designed this wave on Fusion360

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Export as STL

Download Waves STL
Import to ArtCAM, generate G Code to mill with 3mm Milling Cutter

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Machine it



Cut the fabric and spread the resin


Put into a vacuum bag, vacuum and let dry


Un mold and cut the surplus

I used SolidWorks to make the Hiperbolic Paraboloid mold for the composite

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Then I exported it to 123D Make to slice it. I used a Radial technique

And finally I made the nesting manually in Adobe Illustrator

First of all we have to know what a composite is... Composites are material that are composed by two or more kind of material and basically consist in two parts: matrix and reinforcement. Matrix is the element that is in greater proportion and surround the other elements; and reinforcement is in lower proportion and can vary distribution, geometry, size and orientation.

For our composite we decided to use Fiberglass as Reinforcement and Epoxy Resin and Epoxy Hardener System as Matrix.

First we cover the cardboard mold wraping it up with plastic

Cut the fiberglass to fit the mold

Prepare the mix of resin epoxy and hardener in a recipient

Apply the mixture to the fiberglass with a brush

Let ir dry

Unmold

This time I used felt as Reinforcement and Epoxy Resin and Epoxy Hardener System as Matrix.

First we cover the cardboard mold wraping it up with plastic

Cut the felt to fit the mold

Prepare the mix of resin epoxy and hardener in a recipient

Apply the mixture to felt with a brush

Cover it with butter paper

Put it into a vacuum bag

And vacuum

Let ir dry

Unmold