resin impragnator/wetout machine

Does anyone know of any plans or a site that describes a 'homemade' impregnator?

 

check the principles of opperation & adapt your available materials & skills- http://www.atlcomposites.com.au/files/products.equipment/wombat_junior.pdf these can be made small & neat for taping jobs, heres one that my Dad built after looking at a Pro Set one....http://www.boatdesign.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/11451/ppuser/12438 pre wetting your fabric on a plastic covered table is probably the simplest way, lay down about 6 layers of builders plastic on the table so if the resin gets too sticky you can flick off a layer, go to town with a bucket & roller & roll the fabric onto a piece of 90 or 100 mm pvc storm pipe for transport to the job.

 

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http://www.prosetepoxy.com/process_equipment.html

Here's another site with a downloadable operators manual...

http://www.phoenixequipment.com/saturnseriesimpregnator.html


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Thanks for the reply,but I already checked these adresses, the problem is how to move and fix the rollers very accuratly? I will use 200-300 and 400 gr UD carbon and 300-400 gr X carbon so rollers distance should be from 0,1 to 1mm (if I use thicker clothes in the future)

I am thinking to use aluminum rollers and cover the pot with teflon, I will use sika low viscozity epoxy(250 mpas), I think I have to try and see for having an idea about the resine/fiber ratio? Here I have lathe and cnc facilities and I will start to 53ft sailboat from carbon and if I can make one machine that will significantly reduce my workhours but also I am scaring to spend my time and money for having an unusefull machine ..

 

If you want the nip rollers to squeeze out the resin to a precise ratio of resin/glass, they would have to be very accurate. If you are only approximating resin/glass ratios of hand layup but are looking for the speed of wetting out that an impregnator will give you, you might try and use cheap rollers with a squeegee type arrangement to scrape off excess resin.

Here's a homemade impregnator of some sort described, you have to join to see the pictures...
http://www.compositescentral.com/showthread.php?t=6620

 

For those that do not want to subscribe (although it is a very good forum) here is the PDF as well:

http://www.brandscomposiet.nl/products/documentation/n/B52 Werkplaatsinventaris.pdf

If anyone needs more pictures, please PM me your mail address.

 

www.phoenixequipment.com