Materials:
| NAME |
QTY |
| Composite Fabric |
A/N |
| Aero-Poxy Epoxy |
A/N |
| Glass Microballoons |
A/N |
| Cab-o-sil |
A/N |
| Lightweight Spackling |
A/N |
| Bondo Red filler |
A/N |
Consumables/Equipment:
| NAME |
QTY |
| Nitrile Gloves |
A/N |
| Mixing Cups |
A/N |
| Mixing Sticks |
A/N |
| Paper Towels |
A/N |
| Peel Ply |
A/N |
| Saran Wrap |
A/N |
| Paint Brush |
A/N |
| Epoxy/Paint Roller |
A/N |
| Sandpaper / Sanding block (120-400 grit) |
A/N |
| Isopropyl alcohol |
A/N |
| Plastic Spreader |
A/N |
| Composite Shears |
1 |
| Sharpie Marker |
A/N |
| Scale |
1 |
| Lab Coat |
1 |
| Safety Goggles |
1 |
| Respirator (P900 filters) |
1 |
PPE:
All subsequent steps require use of the following PPE:
- Nitrile Gloves
- Respirator, P900 filters
- Lab Coat
- Safety Goggles
Layup Preparation
Prepare Mold
- Clean up 3D printing excess and join mold sections
- Use sandpaper to remove excess filament from 3D-printed mold in preparation for joining mold pieces together.
- Using 30-min epoxy, join molds along the self-jigging geometry on the print faces. Allow time for the epoxy to fully cure before starting the filling and sanding process.
- Fill and sand mold until desired surface texture is reached
- Apply Bondo-red filler to mold joints and other areas where surface of mold is uneven. Due to the fast curing time of Bondo-red filler, work in batches of roughly 10-20 ml of Bondo-red at a time; use Plastic Spreader to distribute the Bondo-red to desired areas over the course of about 30 seconds. Once
- mold release wax and pva alcohol
Pre-Cut Fabric
- Cut out a template for the composite fabric using the mold for reference. The template is to be around 0.5” oversized
- Find a large (roughly 3’x5’) flat work surface. Either use paper towels and isopropyl alcohol to clean the surface, or lay down a plastic drop cloth.