Scratch Build – In Progress SSR-X: Update - Bottom Cover Fiberglass Part 2/De-Mold

New Work, State of Molds

Before I get started, I want to say that I currently work 2 jobs and I'm involved in a newly "invented" wood process research project. Updates for the project won't be daily. Hopefully over the coming months the new covers will be fabricated.

The molds for SSR-X were sitting on the shelf at work for the past 2 years, so I climbed up and took them down to take account of there current state.



This is the bottom cover mold, which, from the pic doesn't look to terrible. It is in horrible shape unfortunately. Over time the mold has bent and it may not be able to be salvaged. I thought I took more pictures, so I'll have to snag some more and post the problem spots.



The top mold is also in a state of dis-repair. I knew this mold was broken in places after creating the top cover.







These pictures show the places were the mold is damaged beyond possible repair.

Reason for Damage/Breakage? Improper mold construction!

The molds should have been created using a fiberglass reinforcement backing. At the time of construction, a lot of the tutorials I was reading talked about the frequency at which bubbles from the fiberglass lay up can break through the gel/tooling coat. So I decided against Fiberglass, at the time. First Mistake! If the Gel/Tooling coat is applied properly, the lay up of the fiberglass and proper rolling and matting will NOT cause any breakthroughs.

Also fiberglass molds last for quite some time. The best molds are made out of steel or aluminium.



Another big spot! I designed SSR to have high interior ceiling for 2 video cards. This led me to creating a case with a pyramid shape. It also at the time made fabrication easier, when I look back on it.

This pyramid shape when used in this overall mold shape creates a "mechanical" lock. Regardless of how much release agent is applied, this shape hindered the cover release after the Infusion was completed.

I will be cutting this point out and creating a sleeker design for the top of the case. The future of the case will be single card only.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

 

Mold Repair

Update:

I began repairing the top cover mold today. Both molds got damaged when trying to release the carbon fiber covers from the molds themselves. The most likely cause of release failure was not enough coats of release agent, followed by mold design.

Standard Gorilla Glue epoxy that will be sanded down afterward.



Yikes! Broken molds usually mean they get discarded in the trash bin. Interesting to see all the layers here.



Fixing this area will be a pain! I'll further fill it with epoxy, followed by aggressive sanding and if need be, bondo filler.



The piece that was broken off, after gluing together. Small but managable gap to fix.



This area filled in pretty nicely with epoxy. It will be interesting to see how it turns out after sanding.



Until next time

 

Fiberglass

Update:

The stars aligned and I found all the supplies I needed locally, so I went ahead and created the top cover out of fiberglass.

There will be a more extensive update, complete with video links. It will serve as a simple tutorial for modders looking to create fiberglass pieces.

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Creating Fiberglass is a pretty nasty process! Best to be done outside! After applying 5 coats of Film Release or PVA. The mold was ready for fiberglass. Note: The mold looks green because of the Film Release coating.





The basic supplies need. Fiberglass Resin, Cups, Brushes, Mask, Gloves, and optional scale.



I'm using 3/4oz Chop-Strand Mat.



Due to the complex geometry of the mold, the best way for the fiberglass to be laid into the mold is by creating a bunch of small pieces.



After laying up 2 layers of fiberglass! Once again I have a video coming. You have to work quick when working with fiberglass and it is also a very messy process, so that is why there is a lack of pictures. No time to take gloves off and take pictures of the lay-up process.





This is my first time working with fiberglass! I was worried by the this side looked horrible! I thought for sure that when I de-molded the cover it would reveal a disaster!





I should have used a fiberglass roller. I was taking a short-cut instead, but just using the brush to try and get rid of all the air bubbles.



The Result. The fiberglass plug popped out really easy! I trimmed off the perimeter and used a metal ruler to release the plug from the mold.







There are some problems areas that can be fixed. I very pleased with the final result overall.

Until next time

 

Update: Bottom Cover

Update.

I worked 18 hours and got 6 hours of sleep, so I decided to wake up on work on the bottom cover for SSR-X. I relocated down to my friends at Rex Auto Body for more space and to not stink up my entire work place.



The mold still had dirt and old resin left over. A quick clean with Acetone took care of that.





After cleaning, I applied 3 coats of wax to the mold, in preparing, the mold for chemical release agent.



Film #10 works like magic. There is should be a 4 mill coat before any composite work is done, to ensure proper release.

In this case, I applied 4 heavy coats, taking about 1.5 hour in total for total cure.



Luckily, I had some new handy tools to use. Professional Paint Drying Lamp



This is with the 4 coat. Since the layers were so heavily applied the heat lamps came in handy.

The best way to apply chemical release agent is with a spray gun!



Here is where the worklog goes sketchy! I was busy doing the fiberglass work that I didn't stop and take routine photos along the way. I had my friend Ryan step in and take some photos while I was working.

The Method was different in the way the Fiberglass was applied!

Instead of applying all in one shot, I took my friend advice and applied the fiberglass using Wax sheets. The fiberglass gets pre-soaked and applied with the wax backing.

The advantage is that you don't use an extensive amount of resin and helps build a better overall mold. Supposedly! Time will tell and I will get back to which Method I liked better.











Heat Lamps back to the rescue for the cure!



Until Tomorrow!

 

Update: SolidWork thoughts

Update:

I've been playing around with ideas in Solidworks for the design in the Tip on the top cover. While in the original design, the Pyramid shape tip was intended for necessary height for hardware inclusion and it also made fabrication and mold making easier due to less surface faces.

I've been thinking about including round shapes into the design, giving the aerodynamic body more of a blend-body feel to it, while keeping the aggressive nature in its stature. I haven't finalized a design, but I'm looking for comments and thoughts???





Work On

 

Update: Solidwork Design

Update

I went ahead and designed the main compartment cover in Solidworks so I could better visually see what I want to do. I tried experimenting with a basic square shape but didn't like the look and I when I was using section view it produced a shape that I like.



After a bit of experimentation, I have come up with a design that I like.



Interesting thing now, is I could make this a solid body in Solidworks, and export it to a 3D printer and make my job at fabrication that much easier.

 

Update: Fiberglass Bottom Cover Finish

Update:

Overnight cure and trimmed off the excess off the mold edges for a nice de-mold.





A ball of the Film #10 chemical release agent. This release agent works great



Popped right out of the mold!



For the most part, it looks like a better finish, but there were more problems in this part than the Upper Cover.

That goes back to the Method used!



Places were Resin didn't not get applied properly.











In Short: Next up with be applying Filler across the entire surface and sanding and than clear coat before new molds are made.

Until next time