First resin fusion - fail: dry spot

With all but one test, the resin did not kick off before the flow got to the suction end, so that was not the problem.
I'm using laminating resin (just the cheap ortho) and am catalyzing to 0.5 or 0.75%

Tonight, I ran two tests with just peel ply, but were successful.
First test (on left), was with two (maybe 3) layers of 1708 and it took a long time. That was the only test were resin kicked off too soon, when the flow was about 80% through.
Travel rate for the 1708 test was a skinny 1/4" per minute.
Te resin in the 1708 test flowed almost perfectly evenly. I did not mark the progression intervals, just put one line to indicate the flow edge.

The second test (on right) was with layers of 3/4 oz csm and 10 oz cloth.
Travel rate on the cloth/csm test was 3/8" per minute.
Flow through this test started out almost even, then began curving about 1/2 way through, when I began marking.

Both tests had 25.5" vacuum and no leaks

Tungsten, I will test with the vac line farther away and use spiral at that end also.

Regarding cores, I've put that aside until I get better at infusion with no cores.

I don't know if the slow flow on these tests was because no flow medium or because I just wrapped the end of the hose in peel ply and stuck it in the vac sac instead of using my regular bag suction port. I should have kept variables consistent.

These small parts are just tests. The mold for the first part is a 36" x ~7" wide female mold with depth of about a 3" radius (that red elongated thin in a previous post). Once I get these flat panels figured out ( or get bored trying), I'll venture over to that female mold. I have several questions about how to layout that, but I'll open another thread for that one

Thanks for following up with more advice. I'll run some more tests in the next couple of days.

 

Infusion resin will make your life much better, the laminating resin is working against you.

 

x 2 on that, you are wasting time using laminating resin. Use a low viscosity no more than 300 infusion resin with a slow hardener.

 

A good infusion resin should be in the 100-150 cps range.

 

What's a good polyester resin < 300 cps? I've looked for infusion resin, but all I can find that has cps values on labels is epoxy. Because these parts are going to be gelcoated, I need polyester resin.

Thanks

 

It might have a poise value ... so 300 centipoise (cps) would equal 3 poise

 

Ive done it with just regular off the shelf Ve resin. Such a small part i dont think you need the infusin resin. What will help is shade cloth around 50%. I learned that from groper on this site. It aids flow and doesnt use that much resin. Heres a pic of the shade cloth.

 

Heres another pic.this is with core. You can see the resin race tracking around the edges.

 

Find the closest Composites One location near you, they will have a variety of infusion resins. There are other online sources too.

 

I made some progress today, thanks for those last two pictures of you setup.
There is a Composites One location about an hour from me, thanks for that tip.

This latest is 3 layers of 1708, again only about 4" x 3" , just a small test.
I don't know when the underside of the clothe that is farthest from the inflow became saturated, immediately, or sometime during the slow 15 minute crawl until resin gelled.

Attached are a few pictures of my latest success. It seemed to work really well. When I opened the resin flow, it covered the material really quickly, then slowed down a little about 3/4 way across the flow medium distance. When it hit the area where there is no flow medium, it slowed to a crawl. I left it alone until the resin kicked, about 25 minutes. IT took about 15 minutes to cross the area that has just peel ply.

Thanks for all the help. I have a better understanding about how to setup the flow lines and the dynamics of infusion.

Now I can go practice some more failures.

 

Each part may require a slightly different technique, but you'll get the hang of it quickly.

With the correct resin you should be able to fill it in less than half the current time.

 

That's good to hear. I'll find that Composites One place nearby and talk with them. Thanks again.

 

They may have some 040-8085 or 040-8086 infusion resin on hand, both will work well, the difference between the two is the gel time.

 

It is a fun hobby,I'm not sure you need the mat in infusion, you could just go with straight biax.Also you can put the inlet spiral right on top of the flow media.You can use perforated film between the peelply and flow media so its not so hard to remove after cure.