Infusion Plan

Hi Brokensheer - if infused well the usual resin ratio for glass and carbon is Rw=30% so if you have 1kg of glass you need 0.45kg of resin to fill that glass. ie 450/1450=31%
Carbon is same. This is based upon resin being 1100kg/m3. Some resins are denser some less dense which changes this slightly. So jus figure out your cloth weight per square foot and x0.45. The consumables have resin takeup as well and usually the suppliers can tell you what that is or you can calculate that yourself...Cheers Peter S

 

Jorge, just grab some cabosil from your local supplier and mix/use it with your existing epoxy to thicken it into a glue consistency, won't cost you bugger all...

 

Peter, I did a lot of looking ... I know I paid too much, Jamestown Dist. is convenient but expensive. I bought the Plexus gun, better work well for what it cost.

Groper I am using the plexus to glue the angles to the stringers and then the deck to those angles but all around the flange I am using a bog with cabosil, wood flour and I bought some choped fibers, that edge is going to be taped.

brokensheer - Groper posted his recipee for resin usage. I have been using it with good success, my infusions have only enough resin left over to cover the hose and that is with the bucket tilted.

here is a bad image of the boat with the deck panels cut to size. They are just laying up there but it feels solid when I walk around. One of the panels had some warp in it, had I turned the crown up I would have been okay but now I feel it would be better to make a few cuts and straighten it out.

 

I want one too

I am interested in building something very similar but in aluminum with a center console. As well as looking at building a flat bottom with a 20 wide by 6 inch in height tunnel which would be a cat style flats boat. both boats with 12" in sides and flat top and center console. what is the angle of the transome for engine mount...how tall should i make it considering i would like to use a short shaft 50 hp evinrude. ANY and all info will help... am currently creating the design and next week i purchase the aluminum for the framing and hopefully by the end of the summer will finish the build. Wish me luck

 

I would purchase the plans of the XF20 just to use as a starting point but height of transom - Measure up from the top of tunnel for whatever length shaft motor ... Im using a hyd jack plate on mine. I believe mine is 24" from top of tunnel.

Prob should start a thread under aluminum construction as this is composites, good luck to you!!

 

Thanks, still new at this and dont really know how to start my own thread. i left a message on an aluminum boat thread but no responses. I have the concept and have been looking into this four about a year now but i havent downloaded any plans or purchased any plans. If i build say a 15 foot scooter by 7 1/2 ft wide could i possibly be infringing on design patents? I really would like to put on a hyd jack plate but was looking for the angel of engine. usually dont see them place exactly verticle but rather slightly angled?

 

I googled standard transom angle for outboard and 12° popped up a couple of times. I just went around measuring other peoples boats and came up with what looked right to me.

Though I purchased plans for the XF 20, I have deviated from those plans so completely including redrawing plans in CAD that nobody could ever say this boat is an XF20... I think a flat scooter boat like your talking about is not a problem as they have been around since forever so as long as you don't copy a specific feature that somebody else has patented you should be ok... that is just my opinion.

 

Awesome, Thanks.

32 oz cloth /0.45 = 14.4 oz resin

14.4 oz + 32 oz = 46.4 oz

validate 14.4 oz / 46.4 oz = .3103

 

Then add resin to fill core surface, flow media, peelply, and resin feed lines for total resin useage / how much to mix for an infusion.

 

DOH! I would have forgotten that and sucked air!! Thanks. Seems like its not magic after all.

 

Here is my experience with the Plexus MA 425

- Super easy to setup. The tips are relatively inexpensive and I only used one.
- Nice long work time, about 20 minutes before the stuff gells in the tip. I was by myself and it was easy to apply a bead to the angle, clamp it and move on to the next. I did have all the clamps and angles laid out though.
-Nice pressure release system, simply push trigger forward and it relieves pressure, I did not have a single misplaced bead.

The cons are it took 2 cartridges just to attach the angle but if you consider my time and ease of application, I would say it's still worth the expense, especially if I can find it cheaper.

The one thing I can not review is how well it bonds but I did bond a scrap angle to some scrap glassed core so I can test it tomorrow.

I am not too worried either way because I am going to fill in between the angles over the top of the stringers that will give me a nice flat surface. I can even throw some tape over the angles and bog ... that is why I sanded the angles .. The angles I purchase off of Amazon, they where cheap but maybe they are too slick?? Not for the Plexus but for the Bog?

If it sticks, it's a Good Product!

 

A quick follow up report - The day after

I tried to break apart the sample bond ... I used a cats claw and hammer when I couldn't even budge it by hand ... in the end the glass delaminated from the core.

I then put weight on the bond to the stringers, I stood on the angles and could not feel even the slightest give.

I used a tight S Pattern and about a 3/8- 1/4 bead to glue 64' of angle. I am impressed, Plexus kicks ***!!

One last thing that impresses me about this stuff - The adhesive mashes up easy but it does not drip so vertical bonds are easy, the stuff stays put yet you don't need a lot of clamping power to feel like you have adequately squeezed the parts together.

I was even considering using spacers to keep it from mashing too much but since it was vertical, it was not a problem, when I do the deck I may use some 1/16 in spacers.

Plexus is a winner!

 

Kickass! Thanks for the update.

 

Good result Jorge - Just a note about infused laminates and secondary bonding. I have had some clients that have experienced bondlines failing under very small loads when the bondline is an infused laminate and they use laminating resins with a filler. With hand laid laminates there is lots of resin at the interface for the secondary bond to adhere to. With infused laminates theres not much resin to bond to and generally the resin is older and better cured with infused laminates as the parts are made in one go and placed aside vs being made layer by layer if you know what I mean. Consequences - Secondary bonding occurs at the interface and if there is not much laminate resin surface area then the bond is not very strong. If the bond is done when the resin has aged a bit there are not many bondsites left chemically to bind to so again the bond is not strong. Acrylic adhesives like plexus and scigrip use different chemical bondsites then the parent resin so bondsites are available to these type of resins that are not available with the parent resin (Epoxy, VE or PE) This is one reason they are so strong. Cheers Peter S

 

Great explanation Peter, I am going to use the Plexus to attach the deck. Even if it costs a bit more, for me working alone, it's worth it! I can totally see how this could be approved for important structural applications, this stuff doesn't look like it will crack!
Thanks!!