What is the date to the open house? The times, Address and do I have to have my name put on a reservation list? Gary Kolc "Liberty" Warwick RI
---- Will Harris <[email protected]> wrote: > I'll take a shot at answering some of the questions in a general way: > > The bits and pieces= > > Gelcoat - gives a finished outer surface and makes the part easier to > get out of the mold > > Fibers - The fibers are what give strength to the part. The engineers > have gotten very clever to matching the type, amount and orientation of > the fibers to realize the best strength to weight ratio > > Resin- The resin is only there to hold the fibers in orientation. Resin > does not add strength on its own really. > > Core- The core separates two thin skins. The skins can be a lot > lighter, and stiffer working together across a core. > > A good laminate- > > A good laminate comes from: > > Good engineering. Really, this is the key. After it, it is just > execution. Getting the right fiber, orientation, resin, resin ratio, > Core and cure is probably 80% of the game. If you have a crappy recipe, > you get a crappy cookie. > > Fibers - There are a few basic fibers used commonly in boatbuilding. > Glass, Carbon and Kevlar. There are all sorts of different types, > weaves and delivery systems with in each group. Kevlar is receding in > popularity. > > Cores - There are 3 main cores - Balsa, foam, honeycomb. Basically, > they go in that order for both cost and performance. The core needs to > be strong enough to resist the sheer forces of the two skins trying to > go opposite directions. Most of the time when the Volvo boats have big > delam issues, it is because the core sheered. The right thickness of > core is important. Too thin, the boat will not be stiff. Too thick, > you add weight and $$ for nothing. > > Resins - Polyester, Vinylester, Epoxy. Again, performance tracks > price! Poly is cheap. It is the most brittle too. Epoxy is awesome > stuff. One of its best properties is that it is the most flexible. > Sounds counter-intuitive but that is good. In poly, little microscopic > cracks form because it is brittle. This lets the fibers move a little > in relation to each other and the boat gets softer overtime. > Vinylester is right between. We like it a lot because it shares many of > the good properties of epoxy, it easy to work with and is a bit less > expensive than epoxy. A bonus is that Polyester gelcoat sticks to it > just fine! > > Resin to Fiber ratio - Too much resin in the laminate is a common > issue. It seems like you would just slather it in there, but you'd be > wrong. Each system has an ideal resin/fiber ratio. Too much resin does > two things; 1- Adds weight- remember, resin is not very strong. 2- > makes the laminate weaker! Remember those micro-cracks. The are cracks > in the resin. We want the fibers nice and tight with just enough resin > to hold them in place. > > Compaction- As discussed a second ago, we want the fibers nice and > squished together. Air voids are hard to eliminate, but must be > minimized. They weaken the laminate a ton. > > Building Process - Wet lay-up, infusion, pre-preg. Again in > $$:performance. Assuming we are using female tooling. In wet layup, > the cloth is put in the mold dry and wet out and compacted with rollers. > Fast simple cheap. Your boats were made this way. > > Infusion- In the infusion method, all the fiber, core etc are put in the > mold dry. Then we stick a vacuum bag on it with very strategically > placed resin inlets and exhausts. We draw the vacuum, and get the > laminate really firmly consolidated. Then, a metered amount of > catalyzed resin is introduced through the ports. Getting the ports > place right is really important to draw the proper resing front through > the part. When the correct amount of resin is injected, the vacuum > stays on until the part cures. This gives us really good control over > both the resin ratio and the consolidation. > > Pre-preg - carbon comes from a laboratory with a heat setting epoxy > already in the fiber. This is placed in the mold, a vacuum applied and > it is cooked in a oven. First, the heat melts the glue and lets it > flow. Then the heat is kicked up a notch and that sets off the cure > cycle. There is a really specific protocol for ramp up, cure and ramp > down temps. If you really like spending, the oven can be an autoclave > with increases the pressure to about 6 ATM as opposed to the 1 possible > with an ambient bag. > > This is the highest performance option, but stupid spendy. Our little > 30 footer could come out a the $330 - $400 K range. Ouch. > > That is a short ( for an overview), but long ( for a mail list ) run > down of modern boat building. If you have specific questions; fire away. > > Come to the Open House! We will be running infusion demonstrations, and > the smart guys will be able to explain anything to you. Plus, you can > heckle Andy and get a free lunch. > > Will > > > > > > > -- > Will Harris > Waterline Systems > > 716-531-6088 > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > [email protected] _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com [email protected]
