Haha, thanks; that almost sounds like a challenge! But no, we'll try to stay true to what we love doing and hopefully people like yourself will carry on enjoying it too :)
Thanks for keeping up the best quality carbon fiber videos year after year. And especially for not going with the annoying youtube shorts trend, but instead providing actual useful tutorials and product testing videos. I watched these for years before stepping to the dark side, and last year I was your customer over and over again, and will be in future.
Thanks for the comment; you're right that the 'push' is for shorter, shallower content but so far we've not really found that to be the right format for content that we hope to be genuinely useful and enlightening. Thanks for buying from us; we don't take any customers for granted and appreciate your support.
@@easycompositestv can I give one complaint too? Last part that I did, I used XCR epoxy, and I even heated the hardener for quite long time on top of heating radiator. Yet, on 20c room temp part turned with lots of big hardener crystals and is essentially ruined in aesthetics sense. Also the 3D-printed onetime use mold etc meant that I lost about 1 week worth of work in it. The part was usable but pretty it aint. Other than that everything has been mint!
@@sepg5084 real videos get lost inbetween in the subscriptions. And eventually not even appearing since there are so many shorts and youtube pushes them now.
@@djremotion2 Its possible if its been crystallised a long time it needed more heat and for longer. Alternately if the lid isn’t fully sealed, moisture can have an effect making it crystalise.
Loving the honesty of "you should use hydraulic pressure but we're using air because it's more entertaining" 😆 Also sounded like Paul was a little disappointed no ceiling tiles were hurt in the video!
Whoever’s idea this RUclips channel was deserves a medal. Not only is it fantastic content but it’s great advertising for your company. Bravo! And keep up the good work :)
Hey Matt, and thanks! Well, the *pressure* is really not very high; the downforce looks massive because that (modest) pressure is acting over a large area but in reality the kg/cm2 (or PSI) are waaaaaay within what the bag (and the welds) would fail at.
Why do you always do such an amazing job, even with the testing? At other companys they just try to say the stuff they sell is the best and customers have to believe that, while you go out of your ways to not just document build processes for everybody, but also test their failure points in a really meaningful way. No testing rigs are too elaborate, this is really awesome to watch.
That's a good point Mark, we've not really covered GRP for flat roofing have we... one for the future! Now you've got your F1 car done, perhaps you can get back to that shed roof!
Thanks for taking the time to not only make the parts and show the process, but testing what you make! Your videos are an absolute joy to watch for engineering types like myself.
Have been watching some of your videos for very long time just out of curiosity at first and I am happy to inform your marketing department that I've lately made 3 orders from your website and plan to carry on purchasing from you :) Your videos are pure gold.
UNBELIEVABLE. I'm so glad you guys are finding this content useful to keep making. Selfishly its invaluable for obvious reasons but it's literally so unique and inspiring to try new builds and makes. nothing is off limits! can't wait to see what's next. Dare you take on racing CF weaving/moulding? I still can't quite figure out how to make a custom mold but have it reinforced and this market hasn't been disrupted for decades but I think there's a solution in your portfolio. I just haven't found it haha
Ahah, excellent chaps. Reminds me when we were trying a simply supported main element on a pin and roller to really minimise the weights of the endplates/fixings...
the level of details, information provided is just amazing also the quality and level of work in each project is incredible. It has motivated me to start my own dream project of design and making my own car. I would love it you could make a video on that.
We are unlikely to make a video on car design, but we do have various composites videos on processes used in composite automotive panel design and other processes you could use to make various composite car parts.
Another amazing video! Interesting how it failed on the compression side mainly, makes sense after thinking about it. Incredible how much flex it could take before failing.
That was very much not the initial failure I expected, and the final load was astonishing. I know that I really, really don't need to pick up another hobby... but I suspect I'm going to anyway. :D
Great content!! Truly amazing how ridged and strong something so light can be. Im betting its all down to the cylinder shape of the wing, plus the surface area of all those tiny cylinders that makes up the carbon fibre.
Very entertaining, sounds like it was as fun to film. (You tone of voice gives it a way a little.) It was a great way to highlight the difference for designing for a given stiffness and designing for a given strength. If you ever do something like this again, I'd be really interested in the impact of cycling the planned load repeatedly.
@@easycompositestv Arduino, two regulators (one self-venting), a 3 way solenoid valve and some fittings and you can rig one up pretty cheaply to cycle between two pressure levels!
Thanks for the question, The 100kg downforce was calculated by a team who we worked with on this wing. Unfortunately we cannot make their data public but there are a number of ways that the loading can be established, from CFD software through to physical wind tunnel or track testing.
Thanks a lot. It did take a while longer than expected due to hectic time at EC HQ with another major expansion. Hopefully we'll be back into the swing again now producing content more regularly :)
Following most of your videos and learning a lot hopefully to put into practice one day. Could you tell me what you use to display digital readings on your videos? Many thanks.
You could make sure at least one or more layers of reinforcement wrap *around* the trailing edge, rather than just meeting at the trailing edge. In the preceding build video you can probably foresee the possibility for delamination where the two layers just meet each other. That said, it makes the process much easier and, at the end of the day, it's going to fail somewhere so the consideration is whether moving the failure somewhere else (which will come slightly later) is worth the extra complication. In this case, it probably would be.
If we do the moulded version of the video then we’d almost certainly include a spar. It wouldn’t be the exact same wing, of course, but we could discuss the advantages of a spar.
I’m not quite sure. The wing design came from a formula student team we worked with a few years ago. Their aero team said the wing was designed to generate a maximum of 93kg downforce at top speed. FS cars don’t tend to run that fast. If we can find out, we’ll add the info to the project page on our website.
So if you search for "dynamic pressure calculator", you will find that at 100mph the dynamic pressure at sea level might be 25 lb/square foot. Let's assume the coefficient of lift of the wing is a bit above 1.0, and given that to keep it simple just assume we get 30 lbs/square foot of lift for the wing at this speed. I'll guess the wing is 5 square feet viewed from above. So that's 30*5=150lb total downforce at 100mph. Lift/downforce increases at (roughly) the square of the speed. So at double the speed (200mph) you'd get 4x the lift/downforce, or 600lb. So maybe 120mph for 100kgf. Exact #s will depend on the wing's airfoil, size, air temperature, wind etc., but this is in the ballpark I hope.
I hope people are aware that testing a carbon fiber part an weaken it. I don't recall where I hear this but some carbon fiber parts failed (on a spaceship?) because it had been tested beyond what it was expected to bear. The test had weakened the fibers and it failed at load lower than expected. I don't know the correct way to test a part without damaging it but I thought I'd mention this. I could probably be persuaded to find the exact example if people are interested. Thanks for another interesting and entertaining video Easy Composites.
It’s definitely true that performing high load tests on a component would cause some mechanical damage to it. It should be clear from this test, which destroyed the wing, that you should test one, and use another!
Thanks for the question, The 100kg downforce was calculated by a team who we worked with on this wing. Unfortunately we cannot make their data public but there are a number of ways that the loading can be established, from CFD software through to physical wind tunnel or track testing.
Hi, at present we don't have any training courses planned due to the ongoing move into a new unit. However, we do hope to restart them at some point but it's not yet been scheduled.
I'm curious if you ever calculated the air speed over the wing required to produce the force necessary for that failure? It would be interesting to know how far beyond any vehicle capabilities that speed would be.
Really great video as always. Not that you would need to But If you were to stiffen the wing Would you put carbon fibre tubes inside the foam core before laminating to make it stronger? Or would you hollow out the foam once cured and then glue ribs inside? What would be your preferred method of stiffening a hollow carbon. Product.
We would hotwire the hole for the tube (spar) into the foam and then bond in the tube (or box, I-Beam, webs) and then assemble the wing around that stiffened core.
Do you also work with thermoplastic memory carbon? I'm not sure what it's called in english but you can heat it up and bend it. Allows for rapid construction of some kinds of parts. Can't find any videos on youtube about it.
Its not a product we stock. Some composite fabrics are available with thermoplastic fibres woven in to them. They can then be oven cured relatively quickly or cured in heated presses and other similar processes.
Please do one on making my own carbon freedivng fins. My C4 red falcons have a really similar checkerboard pattern, but from my research, those are best for repetitive bending. I would love to know how you make my own with a heated press like they state in their design specs.
Hi Brian, our thinnest aluminum honeycomb is 10mm so the Nomex was far more making thinner cored panels such as was required for the end plates. Aluminium honeycomb typically has a higher compressive strength but this decision was made on material size and availability.
If you look at the high spoiler on a Subaru sti, how would you go about molding/ laminating the convex shapes? Is it best to make 2 pieces & bond them together? Or can I do it with a 2 piece mold & still get the finish on both sides?
For complex, compound shapes, you would need a split mould (two piece). It might be possible to make the component in one piece, inside the split mould, but more likely you would need to make the top and bottom skins and then bond it all together afterwards.
@easycompositestv thank you, one more question.. can I make/shape one piece & cure, then add that cured part into another mold & keep laminating to it? If i were to make 5 parts can I laminate them together or is bonding them together the only way? I don't see much info regarding putting cured parts together, other than bonding. I'd like to mold/make pieces to a car main body, then get them all together to become one big cured carbon part without bonding.
How would you build small profiled winglets like they use in MotoGP? I always wondered if they were glued because I can’t imagine using a vacuum bag to get inside the wing. Cheers and greetings from Germany
It could be made in two parts or for higher production runs, machined two part tools can be used with very accurately cut PrePreg and in some cases core materials which can be stacked into the mould and then closed to give the correct amounts of pressure.
You mentioned that this method for making the wing is mostly used for one off’s and prototyping, how would the production method change for a small/medium production of wings to be made?
Usually, they would be moulded, using a female mould for the top and bottom profile. The component would then be made either as two halves assembled after or using the two moulds together (as a split mould).
This really makes me wonder what kind of safety factor F1 (and other high end motorsport) teams use when designing aero parts. Surely it would be pretty low, on the factor of 1.x the expected load
In F1 they will be working to much more precise tolerances with much more extensive calculations and testing to gain the maximum efficiency at minimum weight. They do also have various regulations that can effect design too.
Hi, is there any chance that You'll make video about making things from your Xencast PX30 Soft Flexible Polyurethane Resin? Some kind of tutorial how to cast this thing
You would need to make a pattern to suit. You could carve the XPS foam to any shape you want to make it close fit the shape of your scooter then use that pattern to make a mould then part.
How much does the wing weigh? It would be good to know to get a feel for the strength to weight ratio for those of us less familiar with carbon fibre parts.
That's a very informative video, thank you. I was expecting carbon fibre to fly everywhere when the wing failed, but that didn't happen - so there's a testament to the build quality! Just a few thoughts on the experiment: First: The wing was inflated, when in a real-life application the wing would be deflected, would it not? One might expect a deflection test to give a different result, although obviously this wing is very strong. I suppose a deflection test to include a support at either part of the wing where it would be fixed to the race car, and a load applied in the middle. Maybe something like that? Second: The fracture in the exact center of the wing is interesting. Could that suggest that just a slight strengthening of the center portion of the wing would make the wing even stronger than it is now? To have the laminate thicker in the center portion and thinner toward the end plates would perhaps be ideal, and at the same time beyond the scope of this project (?) Anyway, enough of my rambling... I'm looking forward to the next Easy Composites video, so keep please them coming! 😉
The wing element was inverted for the test (you can see if you look closely) so it does represent the deflection you would see on an end loaded wing. A centre mounted wing would perform differently. Although obviously the test rig is limited in its ability to perfectly represent the forces experienced. You certainly could try extra reinforcement in the center of the wing to see if that makes it stronger, and/or just moves the failure point.
hey, quick off-topic question i've always wondered about. I used to use a lot of carbon/kevlar kayaks. I never quite understood how they work together, because in my head because the carbon is so much less flexible it would take all the stress, and the kevlar would only take any stress once the carbon had broken. I guess I imagine it like weaving steal with elastic bands. I assume I am wrong here as people wouldnt use it. just never sat right with me.
As its a composite material its not split in that way. You get a mix of the properties of the two materials eg a hybrid fabric is not as stiff as pure carbon nor as impact resistant as pure kevlar but the properties are a mix of the both.
I think you are right it doesn't always make sense unless for cosmetic purposes. kevlar is good for abrasion/durability but why not use all kevlar on the outer layer and carbon fiber underneath for all the structural? that's not unusual. that said, the carbon will stretch enough that if it's stressed enough the kevlar can contribute, but, why do that instead of all of one or the other? there are some nuances, I'm no expert. for example kevlar is good for vibration damping. in a hybrid material it might contribute that and also perhaps not used in every layer.
I should popbs just go find the info online. Would be interested to see how stiff 200g carbon is vs 400g of 50/50 carbon/kevlar. Just want to get an image in my head of how they work together in the resin
It makes sense that it failed in the section where you bonded the two halfs together. I'm curious if you would find much stronger resistance with a single piece constructed in the same method.
If joins have sufficient overlap and strengthening then it is not an issue. In this case the failure was well in excess of the intended requirements of the wing anyway so the join was not a problem in this case.
Anyone can build something strong enough. It takes an engineer to build something just strong enough for its intended use. So I get the fact that the join is strong enough. I agree with that 100%. I'm just curious what the limits are with a one piece construction method.
It entirely depends on the 3D print. Different filaments, Infill density and type, wall thickness etc will all have an impact on the strength and weight of the core.
if someone wanted to make this wing stronger (hypothetically, it's strong enough already 😅) could this failure be taken as an indication to use more epoxy? you said the first side to fail was the one in compression i'd take from that, that there is enough carbon to take up the tensile forces now, i always imagine epoxy and carbon to be like concrete and rebar, one component for tension and one for compression would adding more epoxy to the wing increase the compressive strength of it, until with enough of it, the side of the wing under tension would fail first? this would obviously add quite a bit of weight, but i'd think it would be less weight than another layer of carbon, since epoxy is less dense, it would also be cheaper than a whole new layer
In short: It would have the opposite effect. Epoxy is the weak link. It is there to bind the fibers together to keep them in column. More than necessary is only added weight and cost .
A more resin rich laminate would not be stronger in that sense. Additional layers of laminate would be the best way to increase the strength of the wing if you needed it. You could go further and use additional methods mentioned in the first video, such as use of spars, uni-directional fibres etc, which means you can make the wing stronger and use the laminate in a more efficient way to keep the weight down.
I would recommend holding your bag sealer tighter for a bit longer. Also your wire and that composite over the heat bar need to be changed every so often.
It could withstand higher downforce if it had different mounting points. 2 mounting points near the middle like on most race cars or 3 mounting points at the endplates and the middle can reduce the bending moment on the wing.
Within the limiting factors of the aerofoil design and blade angle of attack, yes. Fitment is very much down to the style of race car design and also, sometimes, racing class restrictions.
It would not be that beneficial to you as a large part of our day to day business is more about supply and distribution of composite materials to customers. Although we do have our own manufacturing facilities, they are very much focused around our product range. As an Engineering student, you would likely gain better knowledge and depth of experience from a dedicated composites manufacturing company.
Hey everyone, what might be a cause when resin sticks to the mold instead of the fibres, even though you applied multiple layers of release agent and let the resin cure for over 2 days (hand laminate resin)?
There are a number of potential causes. This could be out-of-date Release Agent; incompatible mould materials (Epoxy resin used on a Polyester Mould Tool), incorrectly applied release agent or removing the item when the resin hasn't fully cured; when it is still 'green', the resin can grip to the mould and come away from the reinforcement.
@@easycompositestv Thanks for the fast response. To give some more information: We are using a milled, sanded and lacquered Polyurethane mold. The resin takes quite a while to cure (550 min to gel). We let it cure for 2 days under vacuum. The resin itself is some months over it’s “best by” date, might that be the reason? Why do most of the resins have a best by date? How would you clean a mold from cured resin, acetone and such is not a option because of the lacquer?
It was drawn up as a generic wing rather than anything specific. However the specific profiles used were 'Eppler423' for the main element and 'NACA4412' for the Secondary element.
Reducing the weight while keeping sufficient stiffness is a laudable goal if aero loads were your only concern. But don't forget a real-world race car wing is used as a tool table by mechanics and a push bar by the pit crew and after the racing is over, it's used as a table on which to mix drinks and serve snacks. And if your driver wins, he might just use the wing to climb on top of the car so that he/she can soak up the adoration of the fans. You don't want someone crippling a thin skin by dropping a ratchet wrench or a cold beer on your wing.
Ultimately depends on the specific race series and the way the team is managed. But certainly you could factor in additional strength if that was needed for non-aero reasons.
I wonder what would happen if the wing was left with 1100 kg of force on it for like 24 hours, what would happen to it then? Might have to build a wing of my own to find out...
Its hard to tell with the test rig we had but there may well likely be a reasonable amount of permanent deformation with such a high load over a long period.
The adhesive used was stronger than the foam itself and the core did not crush as such so we suspect it made little if any practical difference to the results as the primary method of failure was on the skins itself.
I think the rubber washers threw off the measurements. One would think if this were mounted on the car those mounting points would be rock solid with no give. I would be interested in seeing the differences (for science of course).
They'd be attached to long-ish metal or composite verticals, likely rather thin ones, that definitely WILL allow some amount of deformation. A wing like this isn't going to be directly mounded to rigid metal body panels like this test setup does (minus the rubber washers).
I feel your pain, but we chose to use these relatable, but incorrect, units for the benefit of most of our viewers who would not necessarily relate to Pascals. Our take was that our fellow engineers would translate what we were saying! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Maybe we’ll do a surfboard project in the future. We certainly plan to do a foil soon, not really too similar but a watersports board of some description!
Being the lazy sort that I am, I would go to the beach, fill a bunch of bags with sand and gradually set them on the wing until it failed. Bingo, an hour or so after getting back from a fun day at the beach we have our result. Ya see, this is the difference between the simple way and the engineers way.
@@easycompositestv I guess that depends on how really good you are at making videos. 😉 Perhaps one of those Benny Hill type fast time-videos with guys running around the beach, bumping each other, the constable chasing them off. It would truly be different than your usual faire.
There will never be an Easy Composites video that I don't like.
Facts
(1)
Haha, thanks; that almost sounds like a challenge! But no, we'll try to stay true to what we love doing and hopefully people like yourself will carry on enjoying it too :)
@@easycompositestv do a political video
@@LegendLength I am assuming you're just kidding. No politics please. Just like a good laminate, we need to stick together. Have great day 😊
Thanks for keeping up the best quality carbon fiber videos year after year. And especially for not going with the annoying youtube shorts trend, but instead providing actual useful tutorials and product testing videos. I watched these for years before stepping to the dark side, and last year I was your customer over and over again, and will be in future.
Thanks for the comment; you're right that the 'push' is for shorter, shallower content but so far we've not really found that to be the right format for content that we hope to be genuinely useful and enlightening. Thanks for buying from us; we don't take any customers for granted and appreciate your support.
@@easycompositestv can I give one complaint too? Last part that I did, I used XCR epoxy, and I even heated the hardener for quite long time on top of heating radiator. Yet, on 20c room temp part turned with lots of big hardener crystals and is essentially ruined in aesthetics sense. Also the 3D-printed onetime use mold etc meant that I lost about 1 week worth of work in it. The part was usable but pretty it aint. Other than that everything has been mint!
@@djremotion2 Just don't watch shorts if you don't like it so that you won't be annoyed with it.
@@sepg5084 real videos get lost inbetween in the subscriptions. And eventually not even appearing since there are so many shorts and youtube pushes them now.
@@djremotion2 Its possible if its been crystallised a long time it needed more heat and for longer. Alternately if the lid isn’t fully sealed, moisture can have an effect making it crystalise.
Loving the honesty of "you should use hydraulic pressure but we're using air because it's more entertaining" 😆
Also sounded like Paul was a little disappointed no ceiling tiles were hurt in the video!
Haha, yup! And we wished it had blown up more!
Whoever’s idea this RUclips channel was deserves a medal. Not only is it fantastic content but it’s great advertising for your company. Bravo! And keep up the good work :)
Thanks James, greatly appreciated!
am I the only one being shocked how much pressure these vacuumbags can take?! :D great video once again!
I expected bladder to fail at weld first, but redundant welds helped with that.
You are not alone! It is a nice thick material. But do not forget the majority of the force is taken by the wing and base.
Hey Matt, and thanks! Well, the *pressure* is really not very high; the downforce looks massive because that (modest) pressure is acting over a large area but in reality the kg/cm2 (or PSI) are waaaaaay within what the bag (and the welds) would fail at.
413g/cm2 is less than 40% of ambient pressure.
Why use low melting point metal instead of wax?
Why do you always do such an amazing job, even with the testing? At other companys they just try to say the stuff they sell is the best and customers have to believe that, while you go out of your ways to not just document build processes for everybody, but also test their failure points in a really meaningful way. No testing rigs are too elaborate, this is really awesome to watch.
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment, it's greatly appreciated. We do try our best!
These are some of the best videos on RUclips for FSAE students. I’ll always watch when a new one drops.
We did make it with FSAE students partially in mind as well as other club and entry levels of motorsport.
Started watching this channel to see how to waterproof my shed roof; ended up building an F1 car instead.
As you do!
That's a good point Mark, we've not really covered GRP for flat roofing have we... one for the future! Now you've got your F1 car done, perhaps you can get back to that shed roof!
Lol, i chuckled when i read this xD but now you can repurpose the Aero from the F1 car to deflect rain and don't need to worry about waterproofing XD
This Test really shows the insane tensile strength of Carbon Fiber, great Job as always.
It does indeed. Our pleasure; thanks for watching.
Thanks for taking the time to not only make the parts and show the process, but testing what you make! Your videos are an absolute joy to watch for engineering types like myself.
Much appreciated, hopefully you continue to enjoy the rest of the videos we have planned!
Have been watching some of your videos for very long time just out of curiosity at first and I am happy to inform your marketing department that I've lately made 3 orders from your website and plan to carry on purchasing from you :) Your videos are pure gold.
Glad you found them useful and it inspired you to do your own composite projects.
UNBELIEVABLE. I'm so glad you guys are finding this content useful to keep making. Selfishly its invaluable for obvious reasons but it's literally so unique and inspiring to try new builds and makes. nothing is off limits! can't wait to see what's next. Dare you take on racing CF weaving/moulding? I still can't quite figure out how to make a custom mold but have it reinforced and this market hasn't been disrupted for decades but I think there's a solution in your portfolio. I just haven't found it haha
I’m an engineer who works in composites. Every time I see one of your videos, my mind is filled with heart eyes emojis😍😍😍
Keep up the great work!
Awesome feedback, thank you 🙂
이런 참조자료는 유지보수 설계에 너무 좋습니다🙂
Glad the subscriber count is coming up for this excellent channel.
Absolutely amazing video once again. I don't know how you guys do it, but it seems like every single video just gets better and even more interesting!
Wow, thanks a lot. We've commented before how much work goes into them (hundreds of hours) so it's really great to get feedback like yours : )
Ahah, excellent chaps. Reminds me when we were trying a simply supported main element on a pin and roller to really minimise the weights of the endplates/fixings...
The most addicting videos from a company I've seen. Definately going to buy a starter kit (y)
The way this was made would be wonderful for homebuilt aircraft design. I can see something like this being the tailplane of a small aircraft.
the level of details, information provided is just amazing also the quality and level of work in each project is incredible. It has motivated me to start my own dream project of design and making my own car. I would love it you could make a video on that.
We are unlikely to make a video on car design, but we do have various composites videos on processes used in composite automotive panel design and other processes you could use to make various composite car parts.
Another amazing video! Interesting how it failed on the compression side mainly, makes sense after thinking about it. Incredible how much flex it could take before failing.
Yes, these composite structures almost never fail in tension. Mostly in compression or attachment points.
I am a simple man. I watch an easy composites video. I hit like.
Well we appreciate it :) Thank you.
Oooooh! My coolest dude is back with the best content :)))
Haha, thanks 😀
That was very much not the initial failure I expected, and the final load was astonishing.
I know that I really, really don't need to pick up another hobby... but I suspect I'm going to anyway. :D
Great content!!
Truly amazing how ridged and strong something so light can be.
Im betting its all down to the cylinder shape of the wing, plus the surface area of all those tiny cylinders that makes up the carbon fibre.
The shape will have a significant impact itself but the composite matrix is very strong due to the actual fibres themselves being strong.
Very entertaining, sounds like it was as fun to film. (You tone of voice gives it a way a little.) It was a great way to highlight the difference for designing for a given stiffness and designing for a given strength. If you ever do something like this again, I'd be really interested in the impact of cycling the planned load repeatedly.
Long term fatigue or cycle testing needs quite specialist equipment so its not something we can easily do here.
@@easycompositestv Arduino, two regulators (one self-venting), a 3 way solenoid valve and some fittings and you can rig one up pretty cheaply to cycle between two pressure levels!
Just discovered this channel. What a find, so interesting. 👏👌
Glad you enjoy it!
Nicely produced, well scripted and great deliver....fantastic video
Glad you liked it!
Awesome video, well done. Where are you guys coming up with 100kg as the max producible downforce?
Thanks for the question, The 100kg downforce was calculated by a team who we worked with on this wing. Unfortunately we cannot make their data public but there are a number of ways that the loading can be established, from CFD software through to physical wind tunnel or track testing.
Hello from the French alps, Awesome content as always 😁 nice work Paul.
Thank you :)
Literally *all* of your videos are excellent
Thank you very much. Appreciated 😀.
Been waiting for this video for so long! Well done .
Thanks a lot. It did take a while longer than expected due to hectic time at EC HQ with another major expansion. Hopefully we'll be back into the swing again now producing content more regularly :)
It's nice to see you again!!!
Thanks, it's good to be back!
Very nice work. Destructive testing just like an Aero Space company. Very informative narration and testing. 👍👍 Nice wing for sure. 🏆🏆
Following most of your videos and learning a lot hopefully to put into practice one day. Could you tell me what you use to display digital readings on your videos? Many thanks.
The overlays are added in post production using video production and editing software.
Incroyable la résistance 👌
Nice video! I am interested how could the delamination at the edge joint be prevented ?
You could make sure at least one or more layers of reinforcement wrap *around* the trailing edge, rather than just meeting at the trailing edge. In the preceding build video you can probably foresee the possibility for delamination where the two layers just meet each other. That said, it makes the process much easier and, at the end of the day, it's going to fail somewhere so the consideration is whether moving the failure somewhere else (which will come slightly later) is worth the extra complication. In this case, it probably would be.
I would like to see how the same design would go, but this time with a basic spar to demonstrate how to add stiffness without adding weight
If we do the moulded version of the video then we’d almost certainly include a spar. It wouldn’t be the exact same wing, of course, but we could discuss the advantages of a spar.
Great video and experiment do you think at what speed it will be at maximum amount of downforce for this wing which is about 100kg?
I’m not quite sure. The wing design came from a formula student team we worked with a few years ago. Their aero team said the wing was designed to generate a maximum of 93kg downforce at top speed. FS cars don’t tend to run that fast. If we can find out, we’ll add the info to the project page on our website.
So if you search for "dynamic pressure calculator", you will find that at 100mph the dynamic pressure at sea level might be 25 lb/square foot. Let's assume the coefficient of lift of the wing is a bit above 1.0, and given that to keep it simple just assume we get 30 lbs/square foot of lift for the wing at this speed.
I'll guess the wing is 5 square feet viewed from above. So that's 30*5=150lb total downforce at 100mph.
Lift/downforce increases at (roughly) the square of the speed. So at double the speed (200mph) you'd get 4x the lift/downforce, or 600lb. So maybe 120mph for 100kgf.
Exact #s will depend on the wing's airfoil, size, air temperature, wind etc., but this is in the ballpark I hope.
I hope people are aware that testing a carbon fiber part an weaken it. I don't recall where I hear this but some carbon fiber parts failed (on a spaceship?) because it had been tested beyond what it was expected to bear. The test had weakened the fibers and it failed at load lower than expected.
I don't know the correct way to test a part without damaging it but I thought I'd mention this. I could probably be persuaded to find the exact example if people are interested.
Thanks for another interesting and entertaining video Easy Composites.
It’s definitely true that performing high load tests on a component would cause some mechanical damage to it. It should be clear from this test, which destroyed the wing, that you should test one, and use another!
wow, it snapped with the weight of my Honda S2000, just incredible.
So if you flipped it, the wing would be OK! (don't flip it though, at least not on our advice anyway!)
Great video (as usual)
How have you calculated the down force?
Pressure times surface area.
He mentioned the surface of the wing is 3000cm^2.
0.413kg/cm^2*3000cm^2=1239kg
@@戴紀煬 great, thanks
Thanks for the question, The 100kg downforce was calculated by a team who we worked with on this wing. Unfortunately we cannot make their data public but there are a number of ways that the loading can be established, from CFD software through to physical wind tunnel or track testing.
Another great video :) Is there any plans to bring back the training courses?
Hi, at present we don't have any training courses planned due to the ongoing move into a new unit. However, we do hope to restart them at some point but it's not yet been scheduled.
I'm curious if you ever calculated the air speed over the wing required to produce the force necessary for that failure? It would be interesting to know how far beyond any vehicle capabilities that speed would be.
No as the speed would be in aeroplane not motorsport territory so wasn't really relevant to this application.
Really great video as always.
Not that you would need to
But If you were to stiffen the wing
Would you put carbon fibre tubes inside the foam core before laminating to make it stronger?
Or would you hollow out the foam once cured and then glue ribs inside?
What would be your preferred method of stiffening a hollow carbon. Product.
We would hotwire the hole for the tube (spar) into the foam and then bond in the tube (or box, I-Beam, webs) and then assemble the wing around that stiffened core.
@@easycompositestv Is it possible to hotwire tubular holes in the foam without making an entry or exit line? How would you do that?
Do you also work with thermoplastic memory carbon? I'm not sure what it's called in english but you can heat it up and bend it. Allows for rapid construction of some kinds of parts. Can't find any videos on youtube about it.
Its not a product we stock. Some composite fabrics are available with thermoplastic fibres woven in to them. They can then be oven cured relatively quickly or cured in heated presses and other similar processes.
An unrelated question but it possible to use colored resin for projects? If so l, does it effect it's structural integrity? please demonstrate
Pigments in the typical recommended quantities are unlikely to have any noticeable effect on performance.
I’d love to see this done with a gooseneck style wing as well
Can someone give this guy a TV show? ASAP!
Great thing. Can I send you one of my wings and you can do the test too? 😆Would be interesting. Its a autoclave part.
The rig was specifically designed for our wing dimensions sadly!
@@easycompositestv 140x21,5cm? :D
would you compare the streangth of carbon fiber and s grade glass fiber?
Please do one on making my own carbon freedivng fins. My C4 red falcons have a really similar checkerboard pattern, but from my research, those are best for repetitive bending. I would love to know how you make my own with a heated press like they state in their design specs.
Noted! There are different ways of making fins so it may be something we look at covering if there is sufficient demand.
Absolutely stunning!
Another work of carbon art Paul. How would aluminum honeycomb compare to Nomex?
Hi Brian, our thinnest aluminum honeycomb is 10mm so the Nomex was far more making thinner cored panels such as was required for the end plates. Aluminium honeycomb typically has a higher compressive strength but this decision was made on material size and availability.
Great content.
Keep it up!
Thanks Bananaramaman we'll be sure to keep going and keep uploading; another will be out soon - we're just wrapping up the voiceovers.
If you look at the high spoiler on a Subaru sti, how would you go about molding/ laminating the convex shapes? Is it best to make 2 pieces & bond them together?
Or can I do it with a 2 piece mold & still get the finish on both sides?
For complex, compound shapes, you would need a split mould (two piece). It might be possible to make the component in one piece, inside the split mould, but more likely you would need to make the top and bottom skins and then bond it all together afterwards.
@easycompositestv thank you, one more question.. can I make/shape one piece & cure, then add that cured part into another mold & keep laminating to it? If i were to make 5 parts can I laminate them together or is bonding them together the only way? I don't see much info regarding putting cured parts together, other than bonding.
I'd like to mold/make pieces to a car main body, then get them all together to become one big cured carbon part without bonding.
How would you build small profiled winglets like they use in MotoGP? I always wondered if they were glued because I can’t imagine using a vacuum bag to get inside the wing.
Cheers and greetings from Germany
It could be made in two parts or for higher production runs, machined two part tools can be used with very accurately cut PrePreg and in some cases core materials which can be stacked into the mould and then closed to give the correct amounts of pressure.
Better engineering than the average university course.
You mentioned that this method for making the wing is mostly used for one off’s and prototyping, how would the production method change for a small/medium production of wings to be made?
Usually, they would be moulded, using a female mould for the top and bottom profile. The component would then be made either as two halves assembled after or using the two moulds together (as a split mould).
@@easycompositestv Thank you for the information!
Gentlemen,
welcome to an episode of "Engineers having fun blowing things up".💥
Don't forget your safety glasses 🤓
This really makes me wonder what kind of safety factor F1 (and other high end motorsport) teams use when designing aero parts. Surely it would be pretty low, on the factor of 1.x the expected load
In F1 they will be working to much more precise tolerances with much more extensive calculations and testing to gain the maximum efficiency at minimum weight. They do also have various regulations that can effect design too.
Hi, is there any chance that You'll make video about making things from your Xencast PX30 Soft Flexible Polyurethane Resin?
Some kind of tutorial how to cast this thing
Yes, definitely. We plan to do quite a few casting videos over the course of this year, covering as much of the Xencast range as possible.
Any tip on how I can make a side pannier that follows the contour of my scooter?
You would need to make a pattern to suit. You could carve the XPS foam to any shape you want to make it close fit the shape of your scooter then use that pattern to make a mould then part.
How much does the wing weigh? It would be good to know to get a feel for the strength to weight ratio for those of us less familiar with carbon fibre parts.
The whole wing assembly including end plates was around 3.5kg
That's a very informative video, thank you. I was expecting carbon fibre to fly everywhere when the wing failed, but that didn't happen - so there's a testament to the build quality! Just a few thoughts on the experiment:
First: The wing was inflated, when in a real-life application the wing would be deflected, would it not? One might expect a deflection test to give a different result, although obviously this wing is very strong. I suppose a deflection test to include a support at either part of the wing where it would be fixed to the race car, and a load applied in the middle. Maybe something like that?
Second: The fracture in the exact center of the wing is interesting. Could that suggest that just a slight strengthening of the center portion of the wing would make the wing even stronger than it is now? To have the laminate thicker in the center portion and thinner toward the end plates would perhaps be ideal, and at the same time beyond the scope of this project (?)
Anyway, enough of my rambling... I'm looking forward to the next Easy Composites video, so keep please them coming! 😉
The wing element was inverted for the test (you can see if you look closely) so it does represent the deflection you would see on an end loaded wing. A centre mounted wing would perform differently. Although obviously the test rig is limited in its ability to perfectly represent the forces experienced. You certainly could try extra reinforcement in the center of the wing to see if that makes it stronger, and/or just moves the failure point.
Generic rule of thumb would be that for most reasonably designed components, the strength will be hugely over-dimensioned.
hey, quick off-topic question i've always wondered about. I used to use a lot of carbon/kevlar kayaks. I never quite understood how they work together, because in my head because the carbon is so much less flexible it would take all the stress, and the kevlar would only take any stress once the carbon had broken. I guess I imagine it like weaving steal with elastic bands. I assume I am wrong here as people wouldnt use it. just never sat right with me.
Kyle engineer talked about something similar.
ruclips.net/video/j7bQYEt_qtU/видео.html
As its a composite material its not split in that way. You get a mix of the properties of the two materials eg a hybrid fabric is not as stiff as pure carbon nor as impact resistant as pure kevlar but the properties are a mix of the both.
I think you are right it doesn't always make sense unless for cosmetic purposes. kevlar is good for abrasion/durability but why not use all kevlar on the outer layer and carbon fiber underneath for all the structural? that's not unusual. that said, the carbon will stretch enough that if it's stressed enough the kevlar can contribute, but, why do that instead of all of one or the other?
there are some nuances, I'm no expert. for example kevlar is good for vibration damping. in a hybrid material it might contribute that and also perhaps not used in every layer.
I should popbs just go find the info online. Would be interested to see how stiff 200g carbon is vs 400g of 50/50 carbon/kevlar. Just want to get an image in my head of how they work together in the resin
It makes sense that it failed in the section where you bonded the two halfs together. I'm curious if you would find much stronger resistance with a single piece constructed in the same method.
If joins have sufficient overlap and strengthening then it is not an issue. In this case the failure was well in excess of the intended requirements of the wing anyway so the join was not a problem in this case.
Anyone can build something strong enough. It takes an engineer to build something just strong enough for its intended use. So I get the fact that the join is strong enough. I agree with that 100%. I'm just curious what the limits are with a one piece construction method.
Make one video on 1:5 scale model car chassis ( Koenigsegg, pagani,or Rimac nevera)
what happens if you make the wing out of tubular bagging film?
Ahhhh, impossible, because what could you test it with!? ; )
I have a question. How strong do you reckon a 3D printed part could be when skinned with carbon fibre 2x2 twill?
It entirely depends on the 3D print. Different filaments, Infill density and type, wall thickness etc will all have an impact on the strength and weight of the core.
Fantastic video, thanks for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching
if someone wanted to make this wing stronger (hypothetically, it's strong enough already 😅)
could this failure be taken as an indication to use more epoxy?
you said the first side to fail was the one in compression
i'd take from that, that there is enough carbon to take up the tensile forces
now, i always imagine epoxy and carbon to be like concrete and rebar, one component for tension and one for compression
would adding more epoxy to the wing increase the compressive strength of it, until with enough of it, the side of the wing under tension would fail first?
this would obviously add quite a bit of weight, but i'd think it would be less weight than another layer of carbon, since epoxy is less dense, it would also be cheaper than a whole new layer
In short: It would have the opposite effect. Epoxy is the weak link. It is there to bind the fibers together to keep them in column. More than necessary is only added weight and cost .
that is the common opinion
another effect it would have, is increased laminate thickness, which increases stiffness
A more resin rich laminate would not be stronger in that sense. Additional layers of laminate would be the best way to increase the strength of the wing if you needed it. You could go further and use additional methods mentioned in the first video, such as use of spars, uni-directional fibres etc, which means you can make the wing stronger and use the laminate in a more efficient way to keep the weight down.
Again, great videos. Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
I would recommend holding your bag sealer tighter for a bit longer. Also your wire and that composite over the heat bar need to be changed every so often.
Make one video on duck tail wing ? 🙏
A typical boot lid lip ducktail style spoiler is a pretty conventional moulding process so a bit different than this wing construction method.
would you do a video about hydrofoil production?
We are hoping to cover something along those lines in the future.
@@easycompositestv it would be great that if i can learn those from you guys
It could withstand higher downforce if it had different mounting points.
2 mounting points near the middle like on most race cars or 3 mounting points at the endplates and the middle can reduce the bending moment on the wing.
Within the limiting factors of the aerofoil design and blade angle of attack, yes. Fitment is very much down to the style of race car design and also, sometimes, racing class restrictions.
Is there a specific reason that the wing broke at that point of the wing? Thanks.
With this test rig and its limitations, likely the point of most load. The wing construction was the same throughout its length.
Great content 👍 😀 💕 🌸
do your company get intern students? I am a material engineering student at 3th grade. I would love to make my intern at Easy Composites.
It would not be that beneficial to you as a large part of our day to day business is more about supply and distribution of composite materials to customers. Although we do have our own manufacturing facilities, they are very much focused around our product range. As an Engineering student, you would likely gain better knowledge and depth of experience from a dedicated composites manufacturing company.
Hey everyone, what might be a cause when resin sticks to the mold instead of the fibres, even though you applied multiple layers of release agent and let the resin cure for over 2 days (hand laminate resin)?
There are a number of potential causes. This could be out-of-date Release Agent; incompatible mould materials (Epoxy resin used on a Polyester Mould Tool), incorrectly applied release agent or removing the item when the resin hasn't fully cured; when it is still 'green', the resin can grip to the mould and come away from the reinforcement.
@@easycompositestv Thanks for the fast response. To give some more information: We are using a milled, sanded and lacquered Polyurethane mold. The resin takes quite a while to cure (550 min to gel). We let it cure for 2 days under vacuum.
The resin itself is some months over it’s “best by” date, might that be the reason? Why do most of the resins have a best by date? How would you clean a mold from cured resin, acetone and such is not a option because of the lacquer?
What's the NACA digits for that wing
It was drawn up as a generic wing rather than anything specific. However the specific profiles used were 'Eppler423' for the main element and 'NACA4412' for the Secondary element.
Reducing the weight while keeping sufficient stiffness is a laudable goal if aero loads were your only concern. But don't forget a real-world race car wing is used as a tool table by mechanics and a push bar by the pit crew and after the racing is over, it's used as a table on which to mix drinks and serve snacks. And if your driver wins, he might just use the wing to climb on top of the car so that he/she can soak up the adoration of the fans. You don't want someone crippling a thin skin by dropping a ratchet wrench or a cold beer on your wing.
Ultimately depends on the specific race series and the way the team is managed. But certainly you could factor in additional strength if that was needed for non-aero reasons.
I was wondering if that would support my flask of coffee and sandwiches. Drama aside, some interesting considerations and lessons, thank you.
Certainly although ensure you can angle the wing to stop items sliding off!
I’m thinking. He needs to strap the sides
Then he does it.
Impressive!!!!
how do you make cnc hot wire?
Generally you can buy premade hot wire set ups or self assembly kits.
I wonder what would happen if the wing was left with 1100 kg of force on it for like 24 hours, what would happen to it then? Might have to build a wing of my own to find out...
Its hard to tell with the test rig we had but there may well likely be a reasonable amount of permanent deformation with such a high load over a long period.
Would it have failed differently if the core was one piece?
The adhesive used was stronger than the foam itself and the core did not crush as such so we suspect it made little if any practical difference to the results as the primary method of failure was on the skins itself.
I think the rubber washers threw off the measurements. One would think if this were mounted on the car those mounting points would be rock solid with no give. I would be interested in seeing the differences (for science of course).
Hence the second test with saddle mounting
They'd be attached to long-ish metal or composite verticals, likely rather thin ones, that definitely WILL allow some amount of deformation. A wing like this isn't going to be directly mounded to rigid metal body panels like this test setup does (minus the rubber washers).
please make a wheel mold
Could you do the math and show how to build a lighter wing with a lower safety margin?
The calculations would be quite extensive to get precise figures and I suspect you would need more testing to verify the results.
@@easycompositestv Sounds like several videos worth of great content!
When are we getting more content?!?!?
Paul is in the studio right now!! Keep your eyes peeled next week ;-)
Fantastic video, although I can't say that "xx kilograms of FORCE" doesn't bother me lol
I feel your pain, but we chose to use these relatable, but incorrect, units for the benefit of most of our viewers who would not necessarily relate to Pascals. Our take was that our fellow engineers would translate what we were saying! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Remember where typical wings are mounted. Two elements towards the canter, not the ends.
Entirely depends on the type of race car.
EC are the GOATS
hi. try to bild a surfbord challenge!!!!!!
Maybe we’ll do a surfboard project in the future. We certainly plan to do a foil soon, not really too similar but a watersports board of some description!
So long story short, if you put this wing on any car, you can expect the car to break down first before this wing does.
Yes, that's one short take away. The other would be, we could make this wing lighter and it would still be strong enough.
Being the lazy sort that I am, I would go to the beach, fill a bunch of bags with sand and gradually set them on the wing until it failed. Bingo, an hour or so after getting back from a fun day at the beach we have our result. Ya see, this is the difference between the simple way and the engineers way.
But I'm not sure that would make the most entertaining video!! 🙂
@@easycompositestv I guess that depends on how really good you are at making videos. 😉 Perhaps one of those Benny Hill type fast time-videos with guys running around the beach, bumping each other, the constable chasing them off. It would truly be different than your usual faire.
What if you tester the vacuum bag for it's strength haha
If it had burst, we would have used a different material!