If you're new around here, welcome! I build lots of whacky stuff with composites but had never tried forged carbon. Realistically for what I generally build, it's not got a fantastic practical/engineering use case because it is neither stronger nor lighter than a cloth layup, BUT! It looks SO COOL and is pretty hip right now. Let me know what else you'd like to see in carbon!
@xylafoxlin I was looking for your guitar making video today and found this one. You seem to have a great personality and i hope you find and also found one and more great workshop(s) soon and keep up the great work. I also want to ask if you've nailed this art becoming an expert and these are clips from work or do you spend time retaking the shots? Carbon fibre is dangerous we bought a kilogram of it for a project in 2k11 for 6000 rupees from the US, i wonder how much it costs now. Yes your friend looks interesting and I'll skip to watch one of his bhi videos, please don't mind i know you won't😅
Speaking of new folks... You might want to consider jumping on the YT Shorts bandwagon, as apparently it's been having a huge benefit to some channels in bringing lots of new viewers to their channels. And you don't have to even make short-specific content, just edit down the long format videos (for a good example, look at how @Integza has done his). As for something to see in carbon fiber.... 🤔 Maybe a rocket powered glider? _(remote controlled maybe?)_ Although, admittedly, a 'glider' might not be the *best* aerodynamic profile for rocket propulsion... 😅 Either way! You could get a cheap Styrofoam model and coat all the pieces in it. Then, pour in acetone to dissolve the Styrofoam, leaving you with well defined, hollow carbon fiber parts! That would leave plenty of cavity space for a rocket motor tube and electronics.
The reason you saw the infill on the inner piece is epoxy curing temperature comes pretty close to PLA softening temperature. Apply some pressure and you’ll have what you ended up with. Glad you were able to salvage it!
Tech tip from a resin material manufacturer here: With 3D printed molds and epoxy, you will usually want a 2-stage release application to ensure your parts don't try to weld themselves to the mold. The liquid wax is a good start, but a follow up layer of water soluble PVA release would have prevented a lot of that sticking problem. If you are going to sand and clear coat the pieces anyway, wax and PVA is the gold standard for decades for making composite parts from rigid tools. 3D printed FDM molds have a ton of micro-porosity, so they really need to be sealed (tons of work) and/or do the wax/PVA treatment. We have a couple videos on our channel that discuss all of this. 🙂👍
If you don't care too much about reusing the molds, highly recommend leaving then in a heated chamber/oven at 70c or so, it peels away really well after. Boiling in a pot full of water also works. If you get the temperatures right, the glass transition zone of pla can make it soft, moldable like clay or almost gooey based on where you are on the curve.
I was going to say couldn’t you heat it up in the oven or something then dip it in ice water(while still hot), I’m sure it would just pop out. And I’m sure you could heat it up just enough so that the mold doesn’t deform so it will be reusable.
10:52 An alternative to those gloves is something disposable like nitrile. It won't tear holding the parts, but it will tear and save your finger if it hits the blade.
@@--julian_ The issue is not the cut as much as the blade dragging the glove into the machine... and your fingers with it. Better if the gloves break-away.
@@--julian_blade can cut human skin, but on something like a bandsaw that cut probably won't go very deep before you feel it and pull away. As has been mentioned, if a glove gets caught it can pull your whole finger or hand in and result in a lost finger before you have a chance to shut the machine off and untangle it.
HI!! I Just stumbled upon your videos today! I'm a retired Air Force Aircraft Structural Maintenance Technician and you just took me back to my days of working with carbon fiber on the C-17. You did an outstanding job on this build! I would have loooooved working with someone like you in the service! Keep up the good work!!!
@@xylafoxlin: Hmmmm. Now that the Kang actor has been terminated from Marvel, maybe they could recast Xyla as the female Kang from the Marvel multiverse, and she can make her own costume too. That would be an interesting twist that Marvel/Disney has been doing with the Disney MCU.
I have two comments that might help you. 1) I use Walmart vacuum storage bags as vacuum bags, they work really well, cheap, and they peel easily from cured resin. 2) For carbon I've used black "Featherfill" to fill pinholes. It's easier to sand than a flood coat, and you sand everything away but the pinholes, and you don't see them when you clear coat the part.
You can use a vacuum sweeper to pull the vacuum if you want, but we used a PVC pipe end cap over the top of the valve, sealed with sealant tape, drilled and threaded for a barbed nipple, then hooked it up to our vacuum pump. Your pump would work just fine. Use whatever vacuum you need. One other suggestion for a tool, is an oscillating saw. We use it for cutting and minor grinding of parts. Works really well, and there's not near as much airborne dust as a result. We've found that carbon for whatever reason takes the kerf out of a band-saw blade very quickly.
I’m surprised you don’t have InstaPak foam for doing shipping. It’s 2 part foam in a plastic bag so you just break the inner package, mix the 2 parts, then put them in the box with your project. It expands and hardens, moulded around the part. The Maker Christmas seems like the perfect videos for them to sponsor ( as all the makers suddenly have odd shaped pieces to ship)
The funny thing is, that carbon fiber submarine did make it down and back multiple times. If he'd only not used expired Boeing supplies, inspected the damned thing after each usage, actually properly tested it unmanned repeatedly, removed his cranium from his rectum, he'd possibly still be alive. Or found some other way in which to harm himself stupidly...
That carbon fibre looks Soooooo good in the sunlight! I never would have imagined you’d get such amazing crystaline/flake reflection effects. Just gorgeous. And with your new forging skills, your next wild instrument build is going to incredible 😉
A suggestion for releasing parts from moulds is to include a tyre valve facing the part. (Ideally in the middle.) When it has set, apply an air line to the valve, and you should be able to exert an even pressure all over to force it out.,
9/10, it's been expired for months and the lid is broken from when i dropped it making a 2am snack after a night out. Came into the kitchen the next morning and nearly had a heart attack from the blood all over the walls lmao
From personal experience, I find mixing the tow and the epoxy before applying it to the mould gets a far better uniformity of the finished part. also, the “acne” is not only caused by the pressure, but by the heat that’s generated by the epoxy curing (it’s not much but under the pressure, it’s enough). Pro tips: slow cure epoxy, thicker walls on your moulds, mix it before you layup and try to get the material in position before you squish. It doesn’t like to move much in the mould. Draft angles are your friends and add bleed holes for the excess resin for an easier time squashing it.
And it's best to do a wash coat on the mold first, let it tack up for almost an hour, then put your pre-wetted chop in there. Much, much smoother. Ejection pins in the molds are crucial for complex parts like this. Just a hole with some packing tape or a round sticker over it so you can punch it out from the back makes all the difference, especially if the plan is to do a bunch of post processing. Clamping should be done slowly. Snug it, then do a quarter-turn on the clamps every couple of minutes until the mold bottoms out. You have to give time for the resin to weep out your bleed holes/split line.
As a bonus, send your printing castoffs to Brothers make, letting them know what the material is, and they can then turn them into something else, giving them a second life!
Hello Xyla, to have the pressure force on the mold, you can use a polyethylene bag vacuumed with a vacuum pump made with an old fridge motor and a simple depression switch. The pressure on the mold can be enormous and it is much more regular.
I don't think the mold being crushed necessarily had to do with your clamping the clamps too hard.. The resin likely got warm in the curing stage which then heated the plastic up causing it to deform around the infill.
Use PETG, it’s amazing to sand after and accept orbital sanders without melting and gets really smooth, to cut don’t use carborundum discs, use this thin metal with diamond coating, cuts like butter and don’t break, carborundum is for metal or so
If you incorporate jack bolts between the two mold halves you can apply a huge amount of separating force, even if the threads in the plastic aren't strong enough you can add a lot of pretension that will aid with pulling them apart.
Super cool project 😍 An other RUclipsr used a refrigerator to cool down the epoxy resin while hardening. That’s slows down the speed of the reaction and gave the sire more time to escape from the liquid before getting too viscose / solid.
I maintain that if I was part of the Makers Secret Santa, I would be hoping that my Santa was either This Old Tony, or Xyla. Not to take away from any of the others, but the two of them seem to put a lot into it and make really cool, quality looking gifts.
Great build! I use CF a fair amount and any voids like pinholes and mini craters can be filled with Cyano/Superglue...and a few minutes later can be sanded smooth. Adding CF dust in the hole will speed it up and hide the hole. Keep up the interesting stuff, Xyla!
Top tips for demoulding. 1. use plastic demoulding wedges. 2. Leave or drill a hole and use compressed air to get your initial demoulding pop. 3. When you prise open a gap squirt some IPA in the gap. 4. Leave some tangs of material over the edges of your mould so you have something to get hold of. 5. Use pincher style pliers to get hold of the edges of your layup and roll across your mould to help get a nice pull on the part. Hope that all helps.
Hello so I’m on my colleges fsae team and we do everything with carbon fiber so I have a lot of experience with what you’re doing making carbon parts both for structure components and aerodynamic ones. I don’t have experience with the exact type of carbon you used (the little shaved bits of UD is what I’m guessing forged carbon is) my guess is it’s more decorative (it does look super cool). We use an combination of pre preg twil and UD to make our parts. I’d recommend pre preg above wet layups because the pre preg has the bear minimum resin to bond everything together. So it saves on weight. Also cuz it’s in sheets the layups are easier to plan. We use fibersim from Siemens NX to plan the laminate ply by ply to optimize the part. Regarding molds and vacuum bagging yeah it’s never easy and it’s a lot about practice. Mostly I’d say you want more breather to ensure even vac on the part. Airtech also makes something called aircast which helps with hollow compression molds. Also cursing in an oven makes everything more controlled (but finding and oven isn’t easy) anyways project looks awesome great job. And yeah carbon fiber
Your advice isn’t wrong, but isn’t exactly good either. I used to work with PMCs and CMCs at General Electric, and pre-preg and NX are not hobbyist level options. A better option for her would be various weight twills and UD layers with vacuum infusion. Keep in mind the quality of epoxy she’s using too…
Perhaps you’re right I did fail to consider the cost of materials and manufacturing especially since prepreg needs to be stored cold. So your solution is more reasonable however I would also say that if she managed to design and build a supersonic rocket then the complexity of fibersim is well within her capabilities. I realize that my experience is rather limited to what my team does so if not software like fibersim how do you suggest she plan out laminates I order to ensure that they won’t fail under load? One option is to simply eyeball everything with an high safety factor but that’s not very elegant
@@alexj.cooney5946 I would put my money on her having done very little stress/load calculations for her rocket and either went with someone else’s calcs, or just fired from the hip and hoped for the best. I mean, just look at the amount of manufacturing engineering knowledge that went into this. Lol. Best of luck to you in your future though. Aerospace is a fantastic and exhilarating field. 👍👍
Love the "YT Makers Secret Santa" Gift PlayList concept, it's was so fun to see so much creativity happening and joy being shared. The video seemed a bit of a workout video, with all the mold release action. Very cool helmet. The end carbon-forged result was quite impressive.
As the author of The Iron Manual, I apporove of the use of carbon fiber for enhanced security. Not so much flying itself-- one of the arly Stark inventions was a "partial" anti-gravity device. Developed for the SHIELD Helicarrier... It also required external vision, in-flight controls and redundant power supplies... Excellent as usual!
@11:45 to help with bubbles in the carbon, try using prepreg carbon fiber and thin layers. Make a thin layer and vacuum bag it, then another thin layer, vacuum bag it again and repeat. At that point you will only be limited by your oven size. More vacuum, less problems 😅
Xyla, I love you! I'm truly amazed at how you manage to create such incredible things and tackle such complex challenges. You're cooler than all the engineers in the world combined!
I haven't met all the engineers in the world, TBH. The ones I have met were really good about spending the Government's (aka: the tax payers') money, without a lot of regard for sustainability, maintainability, operations, maintenance, and demil/disposal (including long-term storage) costs, or the costs to upgrade. So, she's ahead of the curve in that regard. Plus, she's pretty dang artistic.
I worked in a fiberglass molding facility...Tip for your future builds. there's a mold paint we put on the molds to make them smooth. then we put many layers a wax on the molds. then we use a mold release on top of that. squeeze out flanges are your friend to hold on to when pulling the part out of the mold. (your welcome)
yes! It's my pet peave when people think gloves make shop work safer. But the carbon can slice you open so fast in that stage of processing so it's worth it, you just got your butt clenched the whole time! :P
Nice job. I've done rocket fins using this same technique. I found that a paste release (3 coats) followed by a PVA release coat on all surfaces (even the back and sides of the mold) kept anything from sticking. Make sure to let the PVA dry completely, then laminate, or fill with chopped fiber. Then clamp just enough so that your excess epoxy squeezes out.
@@xylafoxlin How much clampage could a clamp clamping clamp if the clamp clamping clamp was clamped? That sounds suspiciously like a physics problem, which is why I was traumatized, not so much by algebra, but by algebra-based calculus. It's a communist plot, I'm telling you. Why people like me do liberal arts degrees: we suck at math, we'll never need it in real life, and our parents told us that having "a college degree" was a magic bullet. They lied.
After watching a few of your older videos, you caught my attention with this one. I always knew I was supposed to be some discipline of engineer...but I was too undisciplined in my youth and ended up in the Army... No regrets, it was a good choice for me. Furthermore, Ironman was my favorite Marvel Comic back in the day. Now, I'm totally geeking out over this Ironman mask! Love your fearless attitude, infectious personality, and amazing dance moves! 😃
My sister-in-law took a job in a power plant. Everything was beyond her strength. She bought a large crowbar, painted it pink, and carried it everywhere. Props to both of you.
I like the clamping the clamps. Its good example of thinking about the essance of what you are trying to do. In this case instead of conventional squeezing the handles with your hand, the essance of what you are trying to do is to move the handles closer to each other. When i think like that more sollutions pop into my head
On the mold front, the one demo I've seen of 3D printed molds for forged CF recommended 100% infill which would improve the strength of the mold in compression and make the infill solid so it would reduce patterning
Excellent video! to avoid 'clamping a clamp' i recommend getting some pipe clamps for those long distances. relatively cheap and able to really clamp down exponentially stronger than the grip squeeze clamps. The squeeze clamps are fast, but weak. Pipe clamps are slow but strong. Sometimes I even use both, start with the squeeze clamps to position, then follow up with pipe clamps to secure full strength needed.
What a great final result! Man that looked so good in the sun! 😮❤ I've used that automotive "Anodized Metal" spray paint before, but I did it on my truck's headlights. 😊 The truck I had bought, the guy was a painter and put chameleon flames on it (the color shift paint that changes color based on view angle). The primary color you saw was purple, and so that's the color of "Anodize" paint I used. It not only worked amazing, leaving the headlights look purple when off... But it didn't even effect their brightness at night! It *_did_* tint their output, though. (this was early 2000s, and they were standard 'yellow' color bulbs) More importantly, I never once was pulled over or ticketed for them, and I had that truck for a good 2 years as I recall. Anyways, just wanted to share that, in case it might help someone, since it was some outside-the-box thinking on my part and it might be similarly handy if anyone needs a way to tint light output in a project! Is also like to mention, headlights get REALLY HOT, as well as get hit with plenty of bugs, and it neither flaked off from said heat, *_nor_* chipped from bugs or other road debris. 👍
Ironman is just a cool name. Marketing/Anonymity. It's not an In-Universe requirement that everyone is named for prevailing component of their source of power. Him teaming up with "Underage Experimental Drug Without Ethics Review or Informed Consent Man" and "Iron Man but Black with a Grey Suit Man" are a mouthful.
That looks SOOOOOOOOO cool!!! You did an awesome job making that, and it was really interesting seeing the building process. I wonder if someone at Marvel will see this and decide to rename Iron Man as "Carbon Man"?
1: i am so glad someone else brought up the naming issue 2: Xy… how do you make Every outfit rock? 3: if you ever figure out an easier way to sand prints please share, i have been trying a ton of methods and there is just… nothing that works super well. Some plastics work decently if you can use a solvent, but so few cooperate that way 4: the clear wood days were quite fun, wood be a great project to head back to some day once your new lab is better set up and stuff
You'll never get serious clamping pressure from "squeeze" clamps- they just aren't capable of it. If you need serious pressure, you'll need regular clamps with acme threads. It's a simple matter to add leverage on the handle to increase pressure. I replaced a lot of round handles on mine with shop made square cross section handles- much easier to apply pressure. On smaller clamps, I simply cut four flats on the round handles.
It looks amazing! The subtle colors really let the sparkle out. I've never heard about "forged" carbon. I gather it just refers to the long strand chopped fibers? Perspiring minds, despite it being winter, need to know ! ! ! !
"Iron Man's suit consists primarily of Nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy which is lightweight and possesses shape memory properties. These properties give rise to “healing” abilities after taking damage and allow Tony Stark to fly quicker and more efficiently." Source: Google So... not made of iron.
So, the part where you are wrapping up the box by using the 'leg lock' wrestling position to tape up the box for shipping is now my favorite Xyla video moment ❤! I absolutely love all of your videos, and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
Excellent job, looks briliant. You need to get a Fiberglass Roller Kit, these will enable you to compress all the layers of fibre chop and resin, and remove any voids. The paint brush technique is good but it will actually introduce more air voids into the piece.
Every year I watch the Playlist backwards. It makes more sense, watching a present being made AFTER you see/receive it. Purposely ruining your own surprise isn't my style.
Use a hot air gun and compress air blow the air between the mold and the carbon. Also a cast saw is safer and easier to cut carbon. 10years + making prosthesis here from carbon. Love your work.
I love Maker Secret Santa! This helmet looks so cool! I've never seen CF molded like this and it's pretty awesome. Moving on around the circle. Thanks for sharing!
I made a custom sugar scoop carbon fiber welding helmet. Its sick, super light. the one downside is that uh carbon fiber is electrically conductive and welding uses electricity. literally has a label warning death if you start an arc on the helmet. But it is super cool tho.
@07:52 Your vacuum bag looks like it's right on the plywood, you will pull some air directly through the wood unless it has some kind of gas barrier like an epoxy surface layer or a sandwich of plastic sheeting.
OK, I recognised the Birmingham NEC doors and columns from that single salsa clip. I've evidently been there FAR too many times! In other news, love the content Xyla, always great to see a new video from you!
A little bit of advice when working with carbon in molds like this - when you are pulling it from your mold, If it looks great and you only need one you can cover the parting line in masking tape and take a palm sander and just sand straight down on the parting line. You end up with a perfectly smooth edges. Just make sure you only ever do straight down, it doesnt take much to start taking extra material off.
I've seen lots of car parts with forged carbon, and i personally always thought it looked terrible. But wow, this really did come out looking cool. Good use of it.
I’ve used those Duplicolour Metal Paints before. They’re meant to be sprayed on chrome but you can get a silver base coat spray in that range that acts as a base coat for non-metallic surfaces. Also have you considered using silicon for moulds? Much easier to demould.
Silicone molds won't work for forged carbon as putting the part under pressure is integral to the forging process and silicone won't hold shape well enough under pressure.
@@RuthlessMojo ah, yeah i suppose if the silicone is pretty thin, it's only gonna squish by a percentage of that thickness, so as a liner it should be stable enough under pressure, at least so long as you don't need a high degree of precision, which this does not. You make guitars with forged carbon? That's cool.
Pretty sure if Xyla had more time she be able to motorize the face plate to open and close and add LED lights and everything and maybe even put some sound effects also.
I restore old '80s BMX bikes and I've used the Dupli-Color anno paint for years. It's very cool in your application. If you want it opaque, it needs a silver undercoat (they sell a branded one but really any will do). So, other makers, follow Xyla's example!
@Xyla Foxlin...it was an outstanding salvage after the inlay texture. I would recommend making a paper pattern for the carbon fiber for the shape, which must have done to cut the carbon fiber, after that, use a flat surface to lay up the carbon fiber and then place it inside the mold. I will e easier to lay up and squeeze excess resin and then press it with clamps.
Clamping the clamp is a great hack. I was showed how to do that in a senior citizen class.... 'cus we all had arthritis. Lol. Old woodworkers are a thing in New England. Lol😂
Just spitballing ideas to improve the molding process. Thicker walls might have helped reduce the collapse between the infill ribs. If the epoxy that you used is exothermic (like pretty much all epoxies) when curing, the trapped heat inside the molds might have exasperated the deformation. If that is the case, printing in a higher temperature resistant plastic (PETG, ASA, etc) might help. Or, for future projects make the infill pattern part of the desired surface finish/texture.
Good PSA about the gloves. I used to work in a metal fabrication shop, and gloves were for welding and carrying and not much else. Not to be used near the machines. I lost count of the times I tore skin off a knuckle with a belt sander, but I always considered that better than losing a finger. (I lost a finger anyway, but in a freak accident involving a dog and a lawnmower 🤪)
Great build. DarkAero seems to be the RUclips top-of-the-line for carbon fiber info. They're designing an Experimental-class airplane to be available as a kit. It's mostly hand-laid carbon fiber. Pretty cool project.
If you're new around here, welcome! I build lots of whacky stuff with composites but had never tried forged carbon. Realistically for what I generally build, it's not got a fantastic practical/engineering use case because it is neither stronger nor lighter than a cloth layup, BUT! It looks SO COOL and is pretty hip right now. Let me know what else you'd like to see in carbon!
Really impressed with this build--do you think the "forged carbon" has manufacturability or cost benefits in any practical applications?
@xylafoxlin I was looking for your guitar making video today and found this one. You seem to have a great personality and i hope you find and also found one and more great workshop(s) soon and keep up the great work.
I also want to ask if you've nailed this art becoming an expert and these are clips from work or do you spend time retaking the shots?
Carbon fibre is dangerous we bought a kilogram of it for a project in 2k11 for 6000 rupees from the US, i wonder how much it costs now.
Yes your friend looks interesting and I'll skip to watch one of his bhi videos, please don't mind i know you won't😅
Stark is a fictional character but such is human thinking that Ironman is more real to them than Einstein or Isaac Newton. Isn't that weird?
Speaking of new folks...
You might want to consider jumping on the YT Shorts bandwagon, as apparently it's been having a huge benefit to some channels in bringing lots of new viewers to their channels.
And you don't have to even make short-specific content, just edit down the long format videos (for a good example, look at how @Integza has done his).
As for something to see in carbon fiber.... 🤔
Maybe a rocket powered glider? _(remote controlled maybe?)_ Although, admittedly, a 'glider' might not be the *best* aerodynamic profile for rocket propulsion... 😅
Either way! You could get a cheap Styrofoam model and coat all the pieces in it. Then, pour in acetone to dissolve the Styrofoam, leaving you with well defined, hollow carbon fiber parts!
That would leave plenty of cavity space for a rocket motor tube and electronics.
The reason you saw the infill on the inner piece is epoxy curing temperature comes pretty close to PLA softening temperature. Apply some pressure and you’ll have what you ended up with. Glad you were able to salvage it!
That is an epic helmet!!!
THANKS MAN
W
here before this blows up lol
no way? hacksmith real?
Hacksmith recognizes the real ones.
Tech tip from a resin material manufacturer here: With 3D printed molds and epoxy, you will usually want a 2-stage release application to ensure your parts don't try to weld themselves to the mold. The liquid wax is a good start, but a follow up layer of water soluble PVA release would have prevented a lot of that sticking problem. If you are going to sand and clear coat the pieces anyway, wax and PVA is the gold standard for decades for making composite parts from rigid tools. 3D printed FDM molds have a ton of micro-porosity, so they really need to be sealed (tons of work) and/or do the wax/PVA treatment. We have a couple videos on our channel that discuss all of this. 🙂👍
If you don't care too much about reusing the molds, highly recommend leaving then in a heated chamber/oven at 70c or so, it peels away really well after. Boiling in a pot full of water also works. If you get the temperatures right, the glass transition zone of pla can make it soft, moldable like clay or almost gooey based on where you are on the curve.
"based on where you are on the curve" just sounds so Rick and Morty, lmao
Qq@@spennorex
@@spennorex - i was thinking that 'how to make a shrunken head' vibe - lol
This is great advice. I've made several PLA molds and heating it makes things so much easier.
I was going to say couldn’t you heat it up in the oven or something then dip it in ice water(while still hot), I’m sure it would just pop out. And I’m sure you could heat it up just enough so that the mold doesn’t deform so it will be reusable.
10:52 An alternative to those gloves is something disposable like nitrile. It won't tear holding the parts, but it will tear and save your finger if it hits the blade.
Agreed, and there are some beefy ones too, I'm using Venom but ProjectFarm has a video testing a bunch too. Carbon is nasty to sand heh.
so the balde cannot cut thru human skin? wow
carbon splinters will go straight through nitrile gloves.
@@--julian_ The issue is not the cut as much as the blade dragging the glove into the machine... and your fingers with it. Better if the gloves break-away.
@@--julian_blade can cut human skin, but on something like a bandsaw that cut probably won't go very deep before you feel it and pull away. As has been mentioned, if a glove gets caught it can pull your whole finger or hand in and result in a lost finger before you have a chance to shut the machine off and untangle it.
HI!! I Just stumbled upon your videos today! I'm a retired Air Force Aircraft Structural Maintenance Technician and you just took me back to my days of working with carbon fiber on the C-17. You did an outstanding job on this build! I would have loooooved working with someone like you in the service! Keep up the good work!!!
His suit consists primarily of Nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy which is lightweight and possesses shape memory properties. :) great build btw!
So, the last video was "I'm getting evicted," and now it's "I'm building Iron Man armor"...
Is this Xyla's supervillain origin story?
shhhhhhh
I thought that was the whole point of this channel. Test launching xmas trees and giant skeletons wasn't enough of a clue?
Odd to assume that the landlord is a hero and Iron Xyla is a villain
Killdozer vibes
@@xylafoxlin: Hmmmm. Now that the Kang actor has been terminated from Marvel, maybe they could recast Xyla as the female Kang from the Marvel multiverse, and she can make her own costume too. That would be an interesting twist that Marvel/Disney has been doing with the Disney MCU.
I have two comments that might help you.
1) I use Walmart vacuum storage bags as vacuum bags, they work really well, cheap, and they peel easily from cured resin.
2) For carbon I've used black "Featherfill" to fill pinholes. It's easier to sand than a flood coat, and you sand everything away but the pinholes, and you don't see them when you clear coat the part.
I've always wondered if this works!! Do they pull hard enough? What vacuum do you use to pull? One like I have or the one walmart sells with it?
You can use a vacuum sweeper to pull the vacuum if you want, but we used a PVC pipe end cap over the top of the valve, sealed with sealant tape, drilled and threaded for a barbed nipple, then hooked it up to our vacuum pump. Your pump would work just fine. Use whatever vacuum you need.
One other suggestion for a tool, is an oscillating saw. We use it for cutting and minor grinding of parts. Works really well, and there's not near as much airborne dust as a result. We've found that carbon for whatever reason takes the kerf out of a band-saw blade very quickly.
I’m surprised you don’t have InstaPak foam for doing shipping. It’s 2 part foam in a plastic bag so you just break the inner package, mix the 2 parts, then put them in the box with your project. It expands and hardens, moulded around the part.
The Maker Christmas seems like the perfect videos for them to sponsor ( as all the makers suddenly have odd shaped pieces to ship)
If you suggest that to Kids Invent Stuff, who organise Makers Secret Santa, they may be interested.
looks incredible!!
I think it does too!
As long as he’s not going to the bottom of the ocean, Carbon Fiber is perfect.
The funny thing is, that carbon fiber submarine did make it down and back multiple times. If he'd only not used expired Boeing supplies, inspected the damned thing after each usage, actually properly tested it unmanned repeatedly, removed his cranium from his rectum, he'd possibly still be alive. Or found some other way in which to harm himself stupidly...
That carbon fibre looks Soooooo good in the sunlight! I never would have imagined you’d get such amazing crystaline/flake reflection effects. Just gorgeous.
And with your new forging skills, your next wild instrument build is going to incredible 😉
!!!!!!!!! 👀👀👀
Carbon Fiber Man doesn't have the same ring to it though 😆
I am "Forged Carbon Fiber Man"!
As Ozzy gets older he sings I AM FIBER MAN! Then he eats some Metamucil.
@@klchu 😆 That's just wrong! And so damn funny...because it's true.
Now get off my lawn, whipper-snapper!
A suggestion for releasing parts from moulds is to include a tyre valve facing the part. (Ideally in the middle.) When it has set, apply an air line to the valve, and you should be able to exert an even pressure all over to force it out.,
Love the video, always a treat. Ketchup bottle in fridge upside down tho. 9.9/10
9/10, it's been expired for months and the lid is broken from when i dropped it making a 2am snack after a night out. Came into the kitchen the next morning and nearly had a heart attack from the blood all over the walls lmao
From personal experience, I find mixing the tow and the epoxy before applying it to the mould gets a far better uniformity of the finished part. also, the “acne” is not only caused by the pressure, but by the heat that’s generated by the epoxy curing (it’s not much but under the pressure, it’s enough).
Pro tips: slow cure epoxy, thicker walls on your moulds, mix it before you layup and try to get the material in position before you squish. It doesn’t like to move much in the mould. Draft angles are your friends and add bleed holes for the excess resin for an easier time squashing it.
And it's best to do a wash coat on the mold first, let it tack up for almost an hour, then put your pre-wetted chop in there. Much, much smoother.
Ejection pins in the molds are crucial for complex parts like this. Just a hole with some packing tape or a round sticker over it so you can punch it out from the back makes all the difference, especially if the plan is to do a bunch of post processing.
Clamping should be done slowly. Snug it, then do a quarter-turn on the clamps every couple of minutes until the mold bottoms out. You have to give time for the resin to weep out your bleed holes/split line.
As a bonus, send your printing castoffs to Brothers make, letting them know what the material is, and they can then turn them into something else, giving them a second life!
This guy!
TAKE THEM! But i do think the cargo shipping environmental cost may be higher than the plastic itself ha@@BrothersMake
@@xylafoxlin You need to figure out how much volume or weight it takes to tip the balance towards it being more environmentally friendly.
Boatle Tote gets me every time! :D I hope they bought that alternative domain name because that's who they are to me now.
"Boatle Tote" is definitely the name of a Tolkien character btw. I can picture him now.
"That'll be right Mr Bagins. 'ol Boatle Tote, down at the dock 'll put ye rioght. Ask for 'im at the 'arbour masters."
hehe, even if they haven't it's my affiliate code now!! www.totalboat.com/botaltoat
@@xylafoxlin quick! grab the domain! And use it for good! :D
Hello Xyla, to have the pressure force on the mold, you can use a polyethylene bag vacuumed with a vacuum pump made with an old fridge motor and a simple depression switch.
The pressure on the mold can be enormous and it is much more regular.
If you're going to destroy the mold anyway, you could use dissolvable filament like HIPS or PVA
Or just heat
I don't think the mold being crushed necessarily had to do with your clamping the clamps too hard.. The resin likely got warm in the curing stage which then heated the plastic up causing it to deform around the infill.
The final piece looks SOOOO COOL!!!
Да нихрена ни so cool. Это дерьмище полное!
Use PETG, it’s amazing to sand after and accept orbital sanders without melting and gets really smooth, to cut don’t use carborundum discs, use this thin metal with diamond coating, cuts like butter and don’t break, carborundum is for metal or so
If you incorporate jack bolts between the two mold halves you can apply a huge amount of separating force, even if the threads in the plastic aren't strong enough you can add a lot of pretension that will aid with pulling them apart.
Super cool project 😍
An other RUclipsr used a refrigerator to cool down the epoxy resin while hardening. That’s slows down the speed of the reaction and gave the sire more time to escape from the liquid before getting too viscose / solid.
I maintain that if I was part of the Makers Secret Santa, I would be hoping that my Santa was either This Old Tony, or Xyla. Not to take away from any of the others, but the two of them seem to put a lot into it and make really cool, quality looking gifts.
Great build! I use CF a fair amount and any voids like pinholes and mini craters can be filled with Cyano/Superglue...and a few minutes later can be sanded smooth. Adding CF dust in the hole will speed it up and hide the hole. Keep up the interesting stuff, Xyla!
Knowing the pressures involved in compression molding carbon i expected it to fail much worse that the infill bumps. I think I need to try this :)
Top tips for demoulding. 1. use plastic demoulding wedges. 2. Leave or drill a hole and use compressed air to get your initial demoulding pop. 3. When you prise open a gap squirt some IPA in the gap. 4. Leave some tangs of material over the edges of your mould so you have something to get hold of. 5. Use pincher style pliers to get hold of the edges of your layup and roll across your mould to help get a nice pull on the part. Hope that all helps.
Hello so I’m on my colleges fsae team and we do everything with carbon fiber so I have a lot of experience with what you’re doing making carbon parts both for structure components and aerodynamic ones. I don’t have experience with the exact type of carbon you used (the little shaved bits of UD is what I’m guessing forged carbon is) my guess is it’s more decorative (it does look super cool). We use an combination of pre preg twil and UD to make our parts. I’d recommend pre preg above wet layups because the pre preg has the bear minimum resin to bond everything together. So it saves on weight. Also cuz it’s in sheets the layups are easier to plan. We use fibersim from Siemens NX to plan the laminate ply by ply to optimize the part. Regarding molds and vacuum bagging yeah it’s never easy and it’s a lot about practice. Mostly I’d say you want more breather to ensure even vac on the part. Airtech also makes something called aircast which helps with hollow compression molds. Also cursing in an oven makes everything more controlled (but finding and oven isn’t easy) anyways project looks awesome great job. And yeah carbon fiber
Your advice isn’t wrong, but isn’t exactly good either. I used to work with PMCs and CMCs at General Electric, and pre-preg and NX are not hobbyist level options. A better option for her would be various weight twills and UD layers with vacuum infusion. Keep in mind the quality of epoxy she’s using too…
Perhaps you’re right I did fail to consider the cost of materials and manufacturing especially since prepreg needs to be stored cold. So your solution is more reasonable however I would also say that if she managed to design and build a supersonic rocket then the complexity of fibersim is well within her capabilities. I realize that my experience is rather limited to what my team does so if not software like fibersim how do you suggest she plan out laminates I order to ensure that they won’t fail under load? One option is to simply eyeball everything with an high safety factor but that’s not very elegant
@@alexj.cooney5946 I would put my money on her having done very little stress/load calculations for her rocket and either went with someone else’s calcs, or just fired from the hip and hoped for the best. I mean, just look at the amount of manufacturing engineering knowledge that went into this. Lol. Best of luck to you in your future though. Aerospace is a fantastic and exhilarating field. 👍👍
Love the "YT Makers Secret Santa" Gift PlayList concept, it's was so fun to see so much creativity happening and joy being shared. The video seemed a bit of a workout video, with all the mold release action. Very cool helmet. The end carbon-forged result was quite impressive.
What an incredible result! The carbon came out fantastic and i love the anodizing paint!
As the author of The Iron Manual, I apporove of the use of carbon fiber for enhanced security. Not so much flying itself-- one of the arly Stark inventions was a "partial" anti-gravity device. Developed for the SHIELD Helicarrier... It also required external vision, in-flight controls and redundant power supplies...
Excellent as usual!
14:00 I love how those big ass screw drivers always say "Do not use as chisel or pry bar" when that is the ONLY thing they are ever used for.
ass screw drivers
@11:45 to help with bubbles in the carbon, try using prepreg carbon fiber and thin layers. Make a thin layer and vacuum bag it, then another thin layer, vacuum bag it again and repeat. At that point you will only be limited by your oven size. More vacuum, less problems 😅
Xyla, I love you! I'm truly amazed at how you manage to create such incredible things and tackle such complex challenges. You're cooler than all the engineers in the world combined!
I haven't met all the engineers in the world, TBH. The ones I have met were really good about spending the Government's (aka: the tax payers') money, without a lot of regard for sustainability, maintainability, operations, maintenance, and demil/disposal (including long-term storage) costs, or the costs to upgrade.
So, she's ahead of the curve in that regard. Plus, she's pretty dang artistic.
@@tetedur377 Your attitude regarding engineers sucks out loud. Did you fail out of an engineering degree and now you're bitter?
I worked in a fiberglass molding facility...Tip for your future builds. there's a mold paint we put on the molds to make them smooth. then we put many layers a wax on the molds. then we use a mold release on top of that. squeeze out flanges are your friend to hold on to when pulling the part out of the mold. (your welcome)
Thank you for putting in the safety concerns with wearing gloves full finger or half-finger with saws, bandsaws and table saws.
yes! It's my pet peave when people think gloves make shop work safer. But the carbon can slice you open so fast in that stage of processing so it's worth it, you just got your butt clenched the whole time! :P
@@xylafoxlin It is an outstanding Iron Man mask. Hope you find a home for your tools soon.
Nice job. I've done rocket fins using this same technique. I found that a paste release (3 coats) followed by a PVA release coat on all surfaces (even the back and sides of the mold) kept anything from sticking. Make sure to let the PVA dry completely, then laminate, or fill with chopped fiber. Then clamp just enough so that your excess epoxy squeezes out.
Clamp on a clamp is the best thing I've learned from a RUclips video tbh
clamp the clamp with the clamp for more clampage!
I hear that clamp on clamp pressure is on the rise. Soon; local legislators will have to deal with all this clampage. 😂
@@xylafoxlin How much clampage could a clamp clamping clamp if the clamp clamping clamp was clamped?
That sounds suspiciously like a physics problem, which is why I was traumatized, not so much by algebra, but by algebra-based calculus. It's a communist plot, I'm telling you.
Why people like me do liberal arts degrees: we suck at math, we'll never need it in real life, and our parents told us that having "a college degree" was a magic bullet. They lied.
After watching a few of your older videos, you caught my attention with this one. I always knew I was supposed to be some discipline of engineer...but I was too undisciplined in my youth and ended up in the Army... No regrets, it was a good choice for me. Furthermore, Ironman was my favorite Marvel Comic back in the day. Now, I'm totally geeking out over this Ironman mask! Love your fearless attitude, infectious personality, and amazing dance moves! 😃
My sister-in-law took a job in a power plant. Everything was beyond her strength. She bought a large crowbar, painted it pink, and carried it everywhere.
Props to both of you.
Honestly your sister-in-law is smart. I'm a firm believer in work smarter not harder and crowbar are probably one of my favorite tools.
This was 50 years ago.
So.. Was this at a black mesa facilty?
@@AA-iq6ev It was a power plant in KC.
I like the clamping the clamps. Its good example of thinking about the essance of what you are trying to do.
In this case instead of conventional squeezing the handles with your hand, the essance of what you are trying to do is to move the handles closer to each other. When i think like that more sollutions pop into my head
On the mold front, the one demo I've seen of 3D printed molds for forged CF recommended 100% infill which would improve the strength of the mold in compression and make the infill solid so it would reduce patterning
This thing is dope
Excellent video! to avoid 'clamping a clamp' i recommend getting some pipe clamps for those long distances. relatively cheap and able to really clamp down exponentially stronger than the grip squeeze clamps. The squeeze clamps are fast, but weak. Pipe clamps are slow but strong. Sometimes I even use both, start with the squeeze clamps to position, then follow up with pipe clamps to secure full strength needed.
Love the Secret Santa videos each year. Sad if there’s no TOT one this year.
Too soon. There is a TOT one. Now which person in the picture was Tony?
@@ambsquared The hands above Xylas head.
What a great final result! Man that looked so good in the sun! 😮❤
I've used that automotive "Anodized Metal" spray paint before, but I did it on my truck's headlights. 😊
The truck I had bought, the guy was a painter and put chameleon flames on it (the color shift paint that changes color based on view angle). The primary color you saw was purple, and so that's the color of "Anodize" paint I used.
It not only worked amazing, leaving the headlights look purple when off... But it didn't even effect their brightness at night!
It *_did_* tint their output, though. (this was early 2000s, and they were standard 'yellow' color bulbs)
More importantly, I never once was pulled over or ticketed for them, and I had that truck for a good 2 years as I recall.
Anyways, just wanted to share that, in case it might help someone, since it was some outside-the-box thinking on my part and it might be similarly handy if anyone needs a way to tint light output in a project!
Is also like to mention, headlights get REALLY HOT, as well as get hit with plenty of bugs, and it neither flaked off from said heat, *_nor_* chipped from bugs or other road debris. 👍
Why is he called Ironman? His suite was a gold titanium alloy, then upgraded to vibranium. Love watching and learning.
The first suit was made out of iron in the cave.
So you mean it should be TitanMan and VibraMan
@@Thectthey have ads for those supplements in the back of Men's Heath magazine.
@@keithjoseph7433With a box of scraps!
Ironman is just a cool name. Marketing/Anonymity. It's not an In-Universe requirement that everyone is named for prevailing component of their source of power. Him teaming up with "Underage Experimental Drug Without Ethics Review or Informed Consent Man" and "Iron Man but Black with a Grey Suit Man" are a mouthful.
The sounds of the molds giving way was simply perfect.
It IS that of the year again! :D Love this series
The flake effect this gives to the paint is so gorgeous, I wish this could (easily) be done to a car
That looks SOOOOOOOOO cool!!! You did an awesome job making that, and it was really interesting seeing the building process. I wonder if someone at Marvel will see this and decide to rename Iron Man as "Carbon Man"?
1: i am so glad someone else brought up the naming issue
2: Xy… how do you make Every outfit rock?
3: if you ever figure out an easier way to sand prints please share, i have been trying a ton of methods and there is just… nothing that works super well. Some plastics work decently if you can use a solvent, but so few cooperate that way
4: the clear wood days were quite fun, wood be a great project to head back to some day once your new lab is better set up and stuff
You'll never get serious clamping pressure from "squeeze" clamps- they just aren't capable of it. If you need serious pressure, you'll need regular clamps with acme threads. It's a simple matter to add leverage on the handle to increase pressure. I replaced a lot of round handles on mine with shop made square cross section handles- much easier to apply pressure. On smaller clamps, I simply cut four flats on the round handles.
It looks amazing! The subtle colors really let the sparkle out. I've never heard about "forged" carbon. I gather it just refers to the long strand chopped fibers? Perspiring minds, despite it being winter, need to know ! ! ! !
Thats so awesome girl!! Your really good at what you do!!!
when I saw those packing peanuts, I was like Xyla, the customs office has to open that. I yelled it at the screen.
Wait, really? But it was inspected at the office I shipped from
"Iron Man's suit consists primarily of Nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy which is lightweight and possesses shape memory properties. These properties give rise to “healing” abilities after taking damage and allow Tony Stark to fly quicker and more efficiently."
Source: Google
So... not made of iron.
So, the part where you are wrapping up the box by using the 'leg lock' wrestling position to tape up the box for shipping is now my favorite Xyla video moment ❤!
I absolutely love all of your videos, and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
The carbon already looked so cool, but then the spray paint? SO COOL!
This is one of the best look carbon fiber pieces I have ever seen. Soooo cool!
That stalker clock is the best thing ever! Maybe she put IR LEDs in the eyes just to be extra creepy with that faint glow.
Seeing the aviation table make cameos in other videos always makes me so happy
What a sick piece of furniture
That forged carbon looks sick!! Outstanding job little lady!
The cat that is watching you is adorable!! What a great gift
gah damn, that ended up looking sooooo sick. like i was super skeptical of that yellow but then in the light it pops soooo hard
Excellent job, looks briliant.
You need to get a Fiberglass Roller Kit, these will enable you to compress all the layers of fibre chop and resin, and remove any voids. The paint brush technique is good but it will actually introduce more air voids into the piece.
1:45 I love how This Old Tony is just hands in this picture :D
Every year I watch the Playlist backwards. It makes more sense, watching a present being made AFTER you see/receive it. Purposely ruining your own surprise isn't my style.
Wow. James definitely needed more light! I had no idea it was this epic!
The effect of painted carbon fibre is excellent. If you've ever seen light play over a well cut and polished opal you'll see its a simillar effect.
Use a hot air gun and compress air blow the air between the mold and the carbon. Also a cast saw is safer and easier to cut carbon. 10years + making prosthesis here from carbon. Love your work.
Hey, thanks factor_ just for sponsoring absolutely everything I watched this year on youtube
I love Maker Secret Santa! This helmet looks so cool! I've never seen CF molded like this and it's pretty awesome. Moving on around the circle. Thanks for sharing!
11:40 bubbles... you can vacuum the resin after mixing before pouring it or using it with the brush, that alone reduces bubbles significantly..
I made a custom sugar scoop carbon fiber welding helmet. Its sick, super light. the one downside is that uh carbon fiber is electrically conductive and welding uses electricity. literally has a label warning death if you start an arc on the helmet. But it is super cool tho.
@07:52 Your vacuum bag looks like it's right on the plywood, you will pull some air directly through the wood unless it has some kind of gas barrier like an epoxy surface layer or a sandwich of plastic sheeting.
OK, I recognised the Birmingham NEC doors and columns from that single salsa clip. I've evidently been there FAR too many times!
In other news, love the content Xyla, always great to see a new video from you!
I predict, based on your initial rant, that you'll be trying to make metal aerogel next, and it will rock.
Watching you mess up, analyze, learn, plan improvements and get better every time, is truly inspiring. Keep engineering!
You need to look at fiberglass boat building with gel coat and a chopper gun to spray fiber and resin together.
A little bit of advice when working with carbon in molds like this -
when you are pulling it from your mold, If it looks great and you only need one you can cover the parting line in masking tape and take a palm sander and just sand straight down on the parting line. You end up with a perfectly smooth edges. Just make sure you only ever do straight down, it doesnt take much to start taking extra material off.
FML.. Xyla, you are a great role model. Keep up the great work! The world needs more of your Intelligence, Passion, Ingenuity, Style and Grace.
15:00 love the jumpsuit! I wish I had something like that in my wardrobe
I've seen lots of car parts with forged carbon, and i personally always thought it looked terrible. But wow, this really did come out looking cool. Good use of it.
I’ve used those Duplicolour Metal Paints before. They’re meant to be sprayed on chrome but you can get a silver base coat spray in that range that acts as a base coat for non-metallic surfaces. Also have you considered using silicon for moulds? Much easier to demould.
Silicone molds won't work for forged carbon as putting the part under pressure is integral to the forging process and silicone won't hold shape well enough under pressure.
@@reaganharder1480 It will if it’s just used as a liner for a hard mold. That’s what I do when creating moulds. I make guitars that way.
@@RuthlessMojo ah, yeah i suppose if the silicone is pretty thin, it's only gonna squish by a percentage of that thickness, so as a liner it should be stable enough under pressure, at least so long as you don't need a high degree of precision, which this does not. You make guitars with forged carbon? That's cool.
Out here just casually manufacturing forged carbon pieces!!! Looks amazing, great job, so cool Xyla!
Pretty sure if Xyla had more time she be able to motorize the face plate to open and close and add LED lights and everything and maybe even put some sound effects also.
That was fun to watch… I saw his unboxing and was wondering how it was made. Nice work!
I restore old '80s BMX bikes and I've used the Dupli-Color anno paint for years. It's very cool in your application. If you want it opaque, it needs a silver undercoat (they sell a branded one but really any will do). So, other makers, follow Xyla's example!
@Xyla Foxlin...it was an outstanding salvage after the inlay texture. I would recommend making a paper pattern for the carbon fiber for the shape, which must have done to cut the carbon fiber, after that, use a flat surface to lay up the carbon fiber and then place it inside the mold. I will e easier to lay up and squeeze excess resin and then press it with clamps.
Clamping the clamp is a great hack. I was showed how to do that in a senior citizen class.... 'cus we all had arthritis. Lol. Old woodworkers are a thing in New England. Lol😂
Just spitballing ideas to improve the molding process. Thicker walls might have helped reduce the collapse between the infill ribs. If the epoxy that you used is exothermic (like pretty much all epoxies) when curing, the trapped heat inside the molds might have exasperated the deformation. If that is the case, printing in a higher temperature resistant plastic (PETG, ASA, etc) might help. Or, for future projects make the infill pattern part of the desired surface finish/texture.
Did you remember to create the miniture arc reactor from a box of scraps? lol
The Ramy RC channel does a *lot* of work with 3D printed moulds for carbon and fiberglass, and can likely offer useful tips.
Good PSA about the gloves. I used to work in a metal fabrication shop, and gloves were for welding and carrying and not much else. Not to be used near the machines. I lost count of the times I tore skin off a knuckle with a belt sander, but I always considered that better than losing a finger. (I lost a finger anyway, but in a freak accident involving a dog and a lawnmower 🤪)
Not sure if youve seen the easy composites videos but they're definitely the best documentation on forged carbon
Amazing how you pulled it all together to make a beautiful Forged Carbon helmet. James will be thrilled with your gift
Great build. DarkAero seems to be the RUclips top-of-the-line for carbon fiber info. They're designing an Experimental-class airplane to be available as a kit. It's mostly hand-laid carbon fiber. Pretty cool project.