First crack at resin infusion of a flat panel

[fiberglass jack]

my wife would know what a pressure cooker looked like, her cookbook is the manual for the can opener

[KnottyBuoyz]

Originally Posted by fiberglass jack

my wife would know what a pressure cooker looked like, her cookbook is the manual for the can opener

Well when I got to infuse the hull of my trawler c'mon down we'll feed ya well!

[KnottyBuoyz]

Attempted the second infusion today. Failure and success.

Success: Got a perfect bag. Had to chase some leaks with gorilla snot and acoustical sealant but managed. I picked up a couple of "Spy Ears" off of e-Bay. They're kids toys that magnify sounds so kids can play spy stuff I guess but ya know? they worked great! For $2 plus shipping I thought I'd give 'em a try. E-Bay item #120149832296

Failure: The stupid semi-circle is a nightmare to infuse. I thought I was being smart setting up the perimeter vacuum and infusing the resin from a central point. Well sh*t! The epoxy immediately ran around the part to the vacuum outlet! As you can see from the pics it followed the minor bridging along the edges. This left a huge void in the part.

Success: We fell into Plan "B" after a half hour when it became apparent the remainder of the part wasn't going to infuse. We clamped off the resin feed and relocated it to the center of the void. This was easier than I thought it would be and it worked. After the void was about 80% complete we sealed off the inlet and let the vacuum take over. I don't know if there's a void on the bottom but I'm assuming there is. That'd be cool then I can try a mini-infusion on the void there like you'd do on a repair.

Success: I used only a small semi-circle of flow media, enough to get the resin up and under the part. That worked well and the biaxial fabric flowed just fine on it's own. I also provided a resin break of just peel ply between the part and the vacuum outlet which is probably the only thing that saved our bacon this time. We used about half the resin we did last time and I don't think there's more than an ounce or two in the resin trap.

No more semi-circles for me! I don't know enough yet about how the epoxy flows through the stack. Well I know more than I did two weeks ago! I'll demold the part tomorrow and we'll see how we did.

[fiberglass jack]

I use to infuse a round dome , something simalar to the part you just tried. i found that if i use the spiral tubing for the vac line and ran it completly around the premeter, and had the resin port in the centre the resin would run from the midle to the outside without any problems,I also find the plastic mesh to be the best for a flow material

[KnottyBuoyz]

Originally Posted by fiberglass jack

I use to infuse a round dome , something simalar to the part you just tried. i found that if i use the spiral tubing for the vac line and ran it completly around the premeter, and had the resin port in the centre the resin would run from the midle to the outside without any problems,I also find the plastic mesh to be the best for a flow material

That's doing one side at a time right? Had this part been round I would have done the same and done the bottom side separately or drilled holes in the foam for the resin to reach the glass on the bottom. I suppose I could have done that this time but I'm not as smart as I thought I was! *lol*

It's fun. I learned a lot. More projects to come.

[JRL]

Knotty: Your last picture. That big dry area is almost the exact shape and size of what your flow medium should look like. A slightly smaller resin channel running through it would help. Either that or two resin inlets.

I might be seeing things, but, its there breather cloth in your layup? Double bagging?

[KnottyBuoyz]

Originally Posted by JRL

Knotty: Your last picture. That big dry area is almost the exact shape and size of what your flow medium should look like. A slightly smaller resin channel running through it would help. Either that or two resin inlets.

Hey JRL. That's something to keep in mind should I ever have to do something liket his again. That's part of the learning process I guess.

Originally Posted by JRL

I might be seeing things, but, its there breather cloth in your layup? Double bagging?

Just the peelply on top of the part. None on the bottom. 10 coats of parting wax on the tool top. I had some PVA too but couldn't get all the parts together for the HVLP sprayer in time.

The part is 1" blue insulating foam (cladmate) and a layer of 1708 on each side. Same as the first part I made. The biaxial fabric flowed the resin almost as well w/o the flow media as it did with. That's what I found a little surprising. It was part of this experiment to see if that would happen and I was prepared for a complete failure.

I was going to double bag it but decided not to this time. I'll try that on a future part maybe even do a post cure with the heat lamps just to see if it works. I've got samples of Divinycell and Corecell on the way to test.

This is fun.

[KnottyBuoyz]

It popped out slick as sh...........

Well. The toughtest part was getting the butyl tape off the mold. That Polymer Composites mold release wax works extremely well. Better than the stuff I had for the first test.

Note to self: Flow Media goes "Over Top" of the peelply! Don't let me forget that!
The flow media is now a permanent part of this part. Good thing it's not a critical part for a paying customer. Guess I was in a bit of a rush to get the job done. Anyhow, the part is still serviceable for the intended purpose.

With no peelply on the bottom the part is smooth as glass! The downside is without the flow media the part was starved in a kidney shaped pattern. I sort of expected that. That'll provide an opportunity to do a "spot infusion".

I'll have the cut outs tomorrow so we can see the and measure the thickness of the glass/epoxy.

Better than the first but still not perfect. Good thing I only have 1 sump hole to cover! No more semi-circles!

Now all I have to do is learn how to use a HVLP paint gun!

[JRL]

I knew something was missing when I looked at your dry layup. Thats why I asked if you used breather. Makes sense now.

Spot infusions are a real money saver.

[KnottyBuoyz]

Well so the next chapter in this saga has played out. I tried to do a spot infusion of the void in the part. Yeah ok.....

The fresh f/g part was porous and it was near impossible to hold a vacuum on it. The pumps still runnin'. The resin moved well through the part with the peelply and infusion media in the correct order.

The resin flowed really well till about half way then it started to race along the creases in the bag and along the very edge of the flow media. Sheez. I stole a trick of making up little diapers of bleeder to suck up the excess. No resin in the vacuum line this time.

We'll see how it turns out tomorrow.

Do you know what to do with excess epoxy when you've mixed up too much? I do!

Knock the cup off of the table and coat the floor with it!

[KnottyBuoyz]

I learned a couple other interesting lil' tidbits about epoxy today.

1. You can't comb partially catalyzed epoxy from your hair
2. Make sure you wipe up all the spilled epoxy before you put your tools back down in it
3. Don't just cover the spot where the epoxy spilled with a chunk of old carpet
4. Advise the Admiral where you spilled the epoxy so she doesn't walk through it!
5. Check the back of your hands for uncured epoxy before you wipe your forehead with them!

Oh this is fun!

[KnottyBuoyz]

Oh I'll learn eventually. You only gotta hit me over the head five or six times before I figure it out!

I also learned no more grinding fiberglass in the basement. *scratch* *scratch* *scratch*

Well not finished yet. Once I get these HVLP sprayers figured out and tuned I'll paint them. Also going to dowel them together so they'll stay put. That should keep the cat toys and tools out of the sump!

The panels are incredibly strong but I still wouldn't advocate using that cheap blue foam in a boat structural component. I stood with one foot on each and they never budged and I'm no lightweight at 240lbs. Probably the most expensive sump cover ever made!