Scratch Build – In Progress Project: OSIDIAS - Carbon fiber and 3D printed SFF (Jan. 2, 2020)

I'm as good as dead then... I couldn't even begin to estimate the quantities of carbon I've consumed over the years.
One time I tried to grab a carbon-fiber rod which was falling off a desk.... it slid through my grip and left my hand EMBROIDERED with fibers. Very painful.

 

ouch...will you please hurry to finish this project then.
Nah.. just kidding but might be wise to be careful in the future

 

Interesting. That means that waterjetting the panels is a viable option. I've decided to make a 3rd panel, so I'll try at least one myself. If it doesn't work, then I'll send the remaining two off to be cut.

Lol!

In my limited experience, the resin really soaks through and around the fibers pretty well. I can't really imagine there is any place for the water to go.

Don't worry about derailing anything man! I think your input is helpful to anyone that reads it. I'm pretty sure none of as have the experience working with CF that you do. Besides, anytime this thread gets derailed, it buys me more time between updates.

I'm looking forward to the test results just the same!

Thanks! Yes, the stuff is nasty, and I work with it well protected. I've really only got a few very small splinters that were taken care of right away. The biggest issue I have to deal with is simply the dust. A respirator takes care of that.

Good advice. It's worth a shot.

Dude, if you're gonna die young, at least raise some hell before you go! I'd be glad to help!

I take it you meant this for Langer? I think we're all waiting for him to do a little more work on Prometheus!

 

Gah.. yeah mixed you two up, thought he was you, I was a bit tired I guess. Nice to hear your using proper protection. Keep it up

 

No problem mate. Yes, a little discomfort now is better than a lot of discomfort later, especially when it comes to your health.


Now, on the subject of OSIDIAS progress... there won't be any until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. I've got a long holiday weekend with the wife (who's birthday is also today). I hope you guys can find a way to survive until then.



(You'll have to bug Cheaps for updates, lol.)

 

Pulled that carbon cut-off out of the water just now.
It weighs 0.03g more than when I started, which could be attributed to a number of things - possibly some minor absorption... but that's still less only 0.03mL.
I even tried smashing at the edged with a ball-peen hammer - same reults on both the wet and dry sides.
Not that this is a surprising result mind you, but I thought I share regardless.

I used fiberglass panels with a similar composition -in terms of resins- to the panel seen above in the roof of our shed at the cottage. It's sturdy and still lets light in (this is becoming common practice in 18-wheeler truck roofs).

 

Excellent news Jesse. Thanks for taking the time to do a little research. So, I think it's safe to say that a properly constructed panel has little to fear from water.

 

mate so far it looks excellent and I like the colour scheme but you gotta speed up the build.

 

Happy birth day to her from all of us at Bit Tech!

@Langer: Excellent work. Do you think that using a marine grade epoxy would help with water absorption? It would be pretty wicked to make a res for a WCing loop out of CF....

 

You woudn't even need to go that far. The panel shown above is using acrylic and it would be more than appropriate. Any "thermoset" panel would work perfectly.

 

Thanks m8. + rep

 

I needs some feedback guys. I'm not sure I want to continue working with the Kevlar... It seems to be more work than it may be worth. I've got a few quotes for waterjetting the side panels, and it's more than I really feel like paying. It's not out of the realm of possibility, but I'm looking at other options. That's not even considering all the ribs that I have to cut out yet. Bah, I'm not sure what to do, so that's where I'm asking you guys for your opinion.

Okay, I need more fabric regardless of how I proceed, so it's not like I'm starting from scratch. My options are as follows.

1.) Get more orange Kevlar/CF and outsource all the cutting at a hefty price.


2.) Switch to a different composite material (of the alternatives, I'm only considering orange or red.) This would make for a panel I could easily cut myself, but possibly change the ending look some. The options are...


A.) An orange carbon fiber/ fiberglass blend. Which ironically, is the closest to my original vision.


B.) A red carbon fiber/fiberglass blend.


C.) Finally, we've got a red hexcel texalium.

 

My vote is for the orange. I like you original color concept, and if it's easier to cut than kevlar panels, go for it and do it yourself.

I've seen red CF on a Disturbed13 mod and it looks like a deeper color once impregnated with resin. Very nice as well.

Hexcel texalium? You're kidding, right? You need a license from NASA; to buy hexcel texalium.

 

Okay, that's one vote down.

Really? I'll have to take a look for that. I can't seem to place it right now.

Lol, no NASA permits required. Funny thing is, it's the cheapest option. The CF/fiberglass blends are running around $60 per yard, and the texalium is only about $20. It would be perfect if it came in orange...

 

I mainly lurk, but craig I've always loved your projects.

Gotta jump in and offer my vote for the orange fiber.

 

I've been looking at your concept render for a long time now, both in the
modding section, and here in your avatar, so It's kind of ingrained .
It really does look good as is, but ultimately, it's your build and you must
do what suits you the best.

 

Craig, come on, you don't need a vote for this, the best way to go is CLEARLY the orange/black CF. You want to fabricate anything you can yourself, so kevlar is out. Fine. Lesson learned, back to CF. The orange/black stuff pretty closely matches the original theme, so i really don't see the problem. What's the advantage of going with red?

Oh, by the way:

 

Orange is the new cool.

 

As long as you spent planning this project, I think that a change of color would be hard for you to swallow and be happy with. i also vote for the orange/carbon option.

 

Well, I can see where this is going. Lol, I guess I was just trying to be more open to other options. You guys are right though. I'll stick with my original theme. As cool as the Kevlar was, I'll admit I was a little disappointed once the resin was applied. It did get quite a bit darker than I thought it would. That, and the workability factor should tell me I need to change it up. At least now I can keep all my machining in house, and that's the way I prefer it. I'll just have to think of something fun to do with the Kevlar I have remaining.