Project AquaLight - updated [23-2-2007] FINISHED!!!

What have u used for polishing the panels?

 

this is what i use most of the time:

 

a small update for today. i decided that i might go with some carbon elements in this case (real carbon not vinyl)
so, today i made a carbon skin and here are some pics of the process.

preparing the work area. some coats of special wax are applied on the surface to prevent the skin from sticking to the table and a frame is made out of taki tape




the carbon fiber is placed on the surface (this is 600gr/m2 carbon, really heavy duty )




preparing the epoxy resin


the fiber is generously soaked with epoxy resin


making a frame out of a special "breathing" cloth to allow all the air to go out evenly once the vacuum pump is connected


once the vacuum is connected all the air is sucked out squeezing the fiber soaked in resin. a special nylon is used for vacuum bagging that will create a glass like smooth surface once the epoxy has cured

 

That looks AWESOME!
Is it as strong as real carbon fiber?

 

wow dude where did you learn to do that .
keep up the good work

 

How much did you pay for that piece of carbon fibre? Atleast the hardened pieces cost like h€ll...

 

nice nice. love carbon, this year's F-SAE car we're building at QUT has CF body panels, intake (over rapid-prototyped nylon) muffler and floorpan. we also have a carbon/kevlar bucket seat. Looking forward to seeing how you use it!

 

Thanks for the replies guys . First to answer the questions.

NysoO: it IS real carbon

elliod: working with composite materials (fiberglass, carbon and kevlar) is my job

Jipa: a square meter of this specific cloth should cost 70$~. i get it for free

And now for the update. i released the carbon skin from the vacuum today and the result was pretty good (at least by my standards)










i also began the reassembly of the case (the chassis has been riveted together, the top and bottom are still not attached and were only put in place for the photos), so i decided to share with you what i got so far.

 

Weaoooow

 

This case as always is looking friggen amazing, and now you use carbon fiber, i love it. I want to do a carbon fiber monocoque computer next and i'll definately be asking our resident carbon fiber expert (thats you) for help. Great job and keep it up.

 

Looking good there ssR, the realization with this case is top notch and it still keeps getting better and better every time I visit this thread. The only thing I might have altered is the design of the logo, but this is your case and you can do as you please

Now I'm waiting to see where you are going to put the always lovely carbon fiber. Keep up the great work, I'll be sure to check on this one later...

Janne

 

This case looks better and better every time I watch this log. I love the colours

 

Any shinier & I'd accuse you of narcissism.

on the polishing

 

I'm thinking about making a laptop case (more like armor, fixed to the laptop with velcro) out of CF/Kevlar. How strong is just the one sheet by itself? Will it flex at all before it splinters?

 

I want one lol great work where could you get that carbon?

 

thanks for the feedback everyone. just to answer some questions:

greensabbath: feel free to pm me at any time if you got questions about working with carbon and resin types

Darkened: i know what you mean, now looking back i would give up on the AquaLight writing, but dont worry the next project will be much more cleaner. anyway it was a good dremel practice

Tyinsar: ye i would rather catch a reflection of some hot chick in my case but unfortunately we got none at my work place

headala: the flexibility depends on the carbon you use. i used 600gr/squared meter carbon which created a 0.7mm thick skin which is relatively thick for a 1 layer skin. you can use lighter carbon cloth to create thinner and more flexible skin but the looks wont be the same (thinner fiber, smaller texture)

but even at 0.7mm i can pretty much roll the skin into a tube.

kevlar on the other hand is much more flexible. even when soaked in epoxy and cured to full strength it's fiber wont break unlike carbon (if you just bend the carbon over a too tight corner it will snap) with kevlar skin only the epoxy layer will crack so if you wanna lay some carbon over a corner or something you better do it with the cloth still wet and let it cure as it is.. oh and of course its best to make it in vacuum so the cloth will be pressed against the surface you want to cover and copy its exact shape

Ultimate Gamer: i guess you could look for some online stores which sell composite materials. i get everything i need from work and they order it in huge amounts, not from private dealers but directly from the companies which make it

 

you are one luck guy man .But where are you going to use that carbon fiber (motherboard tray?).
keep up the good work.

 

There's only 1 word for this mod:


EDIT: Cant wait to see that thing fired up with blue CCFL. My god.

 

can you tell me how strong the vacuum was ( in bar ) ?

i am doing a lot of cf in my own modding project and your stuff looks extremly good. mine is just laminated by hand. poorly a lot of bubbles remained ( 0,5-1mm in diameter). now im interested how i can stop that in future projects.

 

the case still look too, rectaglely in my opinon, but i cant argue that you didnt do A FRIGGIN AWESOME JOB, especialy the paintjob, and the plexi, aluminum combo, just PURE AWESOMENESS. i cant wait to see what you have in mind for lighting. Keep up the excellent work