same here!! since those old time videos!! i do it as a job because of this dude toooo!!! its amazing to see the evolution of all these! i wish we had easy composites in BRASIL!!!
SAME!!! been following since i was in college and couldnt afford anything. now i just started to create molds and was able to produce carbon fiber parts for my motorcycle. I owe it to this man and his company. greetings from Philippines.
Agreed with all the above, I wish we had Easy Composites in Australia. It's difficult to get all the right gear, dodgy tacky tape and peal ply, trying to make do with whatever you can find! The previous bloke with Mini bonnet absolutely blew my mind 10 years ago, this information is absolutely priceless!!
I am honestly more excited for new Easy Composites videos than Hollywood movies these days. Thanks for delivering outstanding content and making the world a smarter and more capable place.
You know, as a truck driver, that had nothing to do with anything you guys do, and consequently will never be a customer, I just want to thank you for the high quality videos you put out on the process. I'm obsessed with them. It's incredibly interesting how it all works, and I appreciate you guys being so thorough. I literally watch every video you guys come out with. The dude in the video is a great presenter. Just wanted to let you guys know that your video's reach even those who aren't potential customers, and provide a great deal of entertainment.
Been following since i was in college and couldnt afford anything. now i just started to create molds and was able to produce carbon fiber parts for my motorcycle. I owe it to this man and his company. greetings from Philippines. i guess learning CAD is our next goal haha
you guys are single handly describing every step of a very complex manufacturing technique in such a comprehensible and great way one video at the time. Without you guys, formula student teams around the world wouldn't be able to make the carbon fiber parts of their cars 🤣👏
I've become a composites expert over the past decade thanks to your incredible video. Thanks for your passion and dedication to teaching. I haven't made a single part from composite, but I know I could thanks to you.
Do you know, being a 3d modeler from the 90's, your designs does remind me of that style of modelling. Software like Z brush can create the best edge loops geometry you've ever seen, for real. : ]]
Fun fact for you Steve, both of the parts for this video were modelled in VR using gravity sketch. It's been a game changer for me when doing surface modelling... So fast!
I used to build composite tail rotor blades for attack helicopters. This channel is always a joy to watch as the information and techniques are spot on!
Im a member of my university's baja sae team and I wish i had this video sooner. Making the molds has been a trial and error process for us and a lot of the tips in this video were things I found out after machining a ton of molds. Hopefully in the future our molds come out much better!
Glad it timed in well for you, yeah the design doesn't quite stop at the component, we had a look around and realised that this was a subject that had not really been covered before.
This was really good, im a journeyman tool and die maker with about 5 years of experience designing injection molds in solidworks. Fun watching those skills applied to carbon composites
Thanks so much for continually producing content like this. It's unimaginably informative and helpful. Now I just wish you guys had a US-based shipping hub available!
I'm mainly a 3d printing guy with no composite making experience nor appetite to do one. Making mold is so complicated I think I need a degree just to do it. But this video proves me wrong. Thank you for the free education
Incredible, man. I'm so glad y'alls business model allows and encourages free knowledge of how to use the product to it's fullest. These are invaluable videos. Thank you so much.
The fundamental value of knowledge you are teaching in these videos is incredible ! As a start-up maker I'm following closely. As payback, I'll be sourcing materials from you. Thanks and Regards !
This is amazing!!!! I’m looking to 3D print molds, and this will be useful. Thank you for making these videos, the quality keeps getting better and better!!!!
Lovely videos, very informative, precise and detailed. Kindly keep the text overlay subtitles smaller and lower without blackground, so that they do not hide the video and main subject of interest.
Thanks for your feedback. The CC subtitles are generated by RUclips itself so unfortunately we have no control over their placement or style. We can try to consider this for future videos though.
Every single video you release is such a pleasure to watch. The work you all do is brilliant. Thank you for all the free advice and different guides and tutorials. I always leave your videos feeling inspired and with more knowledge and understanding than I arrived with. Awesome mate.
Thanks for the comment, yeah you get what you pay for! I was surprised that Fusion didn't have the functionality for parting lines (that I could find) most packages do.
I love my luck and what the universe brings me. I have been trying to learn how to cut a body from a meshbody and I asked the 'experts' about it a few weeks ago, on numerous facebook groups. I was getting a lot of useless answers and my project got stalled because I had an uneven surface and I needed to use it as a tool to cut another body from. I have spend this last weekend also looking for the solution, without success (reading about b-rep and boolean stuff). So, out of boredom and frustration, I've decided to just watch some composite-related stuff and relax and vent my frustration. I thought I was going to lose consciousness when the video reached the 13th minute and I accidentally saw the solution to my 2-3-week search. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its our pleasure - we really get a kick out of making these videos and the help it can give so it is always great to hear they're working for people :)
Watch your video at the beginning of your channel years ago and just got back into carbon and wow same persone same amazing knowledge probs sir big giant props
Thanks for coming back to us after all this time. Yep as one of the founders/owners of the company Paul's been here from the very start. Although we like think we've improved the production quality of the videos a little since then, our dedicated studio has certainly helped.
Fantastic video! I would love for the next episode in this series for you to cover CAD Techniques for ply design/creation for complex parts. Thank you for all of the hard work and amazing knowledge!
Some CAD packages will have advanced composite tools within them, or available to buy, to help with some part of the design process. The same goes with FEA tools to help you analyse the design. Similar with ply template and cutting tools.
Superb detailed runthrough, always appreciate the effort you put into making these videos. The backcatalogue of knowledge is getting quite comprehensive.
Well done for presenting this topic with such clarity. I guess one thing to add would be scaling of the pattern since you are curing at an elevated temperature, unless i missed this point within the video.
It depends how precise and relevant that is for your specific application, but most CAD packages have a relatively simple scaling function should you need to do this.
Its great to see the old video's and see how far he has come in 10+ years and what is now possible to what was possible over 10 years ago. I have spoken to this guy over messages a few times and he is always so helpful. Is there a way of doing any injection moulding with carbon fibre yet or are you just making parts on the computer for plugs?
Plastic injection moulding is not a composite process at this level yet. Resin infusion and resin transfer moulding processes do exist albeit they are slightly different in both the approach and technique. There are some overlap with some composite processes, eg infusion uses vacuum in a bag to draw resin into the mould. Forged carbon fibre is a compression moulding process between 2 tools. So there is some cross over in some areas albeit there is not injection moulding in the traditional plastics sense.
I have watched so many of your companies videos you guys made me choose motorsports over aeronautical for BEng, thankyou! Is it possible for you guys to make a video on design considerations on the final parts themselves? Like how to plan the structure for known loads and then testing with finite element analysis? I have looked around and there seems to be only a few solutions available (at huge cost lol) for composite FEA? Thanks!
Generally CAD tools with such features are only available on the higher end CAD packages or as paid add on features which makes availability not easy. You may be able to access through your uni engineering department such software.
Always a good day when there's a new Easy Composites video. One question. Is there any scaling factor that needs to be applied to the parts to fit precisely to the intended application or are the as measured dimensions accurate because there's not an issue with shrinkage when molded and laid up in this fashion?
It depends how precise and relevant that is for your specific application, but most CAD packages have a relatively simple scaling function should you need to do this.
Thank You so much for all of the information over the years. Is there any chance of a video for bladder molding into an aluminum split mold? I am on the hunt for bladder making materials at the moment. Thanks again!
Its something we might cover in a future video. The bladders are generally bespoke to each application with different people having different preferred materials and methods so it is hard to give an easy solution that works for all/most.
Loving your content 😍😍 I think after multiple tutorials, I found myself in this world😅 Just out of curiosity, can you make a suspension control arms using forged carbon? Would be it applicable on the normal car? And how would you need to reinforce it? Thank you😊🥰
It would entirely be down to specific design calculations. Its unlikely to be seen on any road cars as often cost dictates the retention of traditional steel pressed parts. It may theoretically be possible on some race parts.
i love that joystick thingy you have for moving in 3d, mind sharing what that is? been doing 3d work for years as a hobbyist and yet to see such a stand alone controller!
The engine cover we will laminate in a future video, the component itself is something we’ve made for another RUclips channel (V8Creative). The fuselage will feature next in a video about the machining of the pattern and laminating the mould. No current plans on laminating the fuselage but you never know.
I was hoping to see what will be done to the backside of the engine cover. I'm trying to figure out a good way to add the parts that will be attatched to the top of the engine.
We aren't quite finished with the engine cover just yet so keep an eye out for the next installment. Generally speaking the mounting features can be one of the more complex challenges to overcome as the injection moulding process usually used for these components is allows for much more intricate geometry to be produced. Quite often it's a case of salvaging mounts off an original part and bonding them in place or fabricating a bracket in place of the original.
Could you guys do a video on how you went about designing the brake lever mold you used in your 3D printed mould video? I think that would pair greatly with that video!
Thanks for the feedback. Yes the features are pretty small so bridging wasn't really an issue due to the way it was lamainted. The laminating video will be ready soon so keep an eye out for that. It'll probably go live on the website first, so check back in the next week or so to see how we did it.
Hello. Are you planning to make a second part of this video? It would be great if you continued making the drone. Namely the wings and tail. Thanks for your work. I'm looking forward to the new videos, they're like a breath of fresh air in the world of composites.
There will be another video that features the UAV fuselage but that one will cover the machining of the pattern and the laminating of the mould sections. We do also plan to do something on wing construction so you might be in luck there!
For very short production runs or proof of concept/prototyping, machining the mould from tooling board would be fine; however, for production runs and repeated heat cycling of the tools, you need much more durability than a machined model board tool could offer. You can also use the pattern to make a number of tools rather than machining multiple tools.
For the parts shown, we have not added dimensionally or scaled the part for machining purposes. The parts are not super critical dimensionally so no additional tolerance is needed for the CNC machining and finishing processes being used.
I'm sorry if this is not the appropriate comment section for this question. But what are the chances that you will explore basalt fiber composites in a video or as a product? I find it really fascinating that, what's basicaly a spun natural rock can have almost as high of strength as carbon fiber, and I would love to see a deep dive from you guys into that topic.
It isn't out of the question that we'll do something in the future but currently it isn't a product we carry in our range so unlikely to be a topic covered in the very near future.
What, no pictures of the drone flying gracefully over a local lake? Once again, this was a very helpful video. I liked the simple way of finding a split line on an uncooperative part, and the introduction of the mold clamping bushes along with best practices for using them.
Haha not in this one, but I'm going to need to make some wings for that bird in a future video, I don't think I'll resist taking it up! Glad you liked the info on the bushes, not something that's been well covered before so I hope people will find it useful.
@@easycompositestv I do think that when you talk about patterns and molds and parts, you need to motivate a bit more why (and when) we need to make molds off the patterns vs just making parts off the patterns.
Hello, I really love your videos. There is a lot of useful information inside a the videos are well put together. Could you show, how the fuselage would be laminated ?
Helllo ECL, really great video! I have a question, if I want the same dimensions between my orginal part on CAD and the final composite part, should I adjust the scale of the part when I create the mold? Thank you
In general no, as the pattern should be the same size as the CAD drawing, and the mould will be an exact negative of the same dimensions. For some very precise applications, scaling can be done to take into account machining tolerances, CTE during curing processes etc.
Impressive. I feel like you could probably teach entire courses for people/ companies who want to go into composites. A lot of the trial and error could be avoided by attending classes with hands on experience. A lot of insanely overpriced niche parts could get so much cheaper if more people had the skills to design and produce these parts. Especially if using fiberglass instead of carbon fiber, for example.
Thanks for another perfectly well done video.. as someone working with CAD daily my brain hurt watching the flanges getting made.. with a direction of Z and am angle of 90° the flanges would be perfect and would turn around the whole part.. but apart from that, the video was good as always!
Thanks for your comment. In this case with this model and Fusion, we found this method worked best without causing any geometry issues or the tool failing to work correctly. Other models and other CAD packages may work in a more simple way.
Question/suggestion: Pls show how you design the actual part figuring out the fiber layers, their shape, total thickness etc. Is there a feature in Fusion which can design a laminated object calculating for layers of thickness and their shape, split the shape into shapes that can be cut on a plane surface, create cutting stencils for the plies and so?
Some CAD packages will have advanced composite tools within them, or available to buy, to help with some part of the design process. The same goes with FEA tools to help you analyse the design. Similar with ply template and cutting tools.
We have done this in a few of our other videos and it's a good method for ambient temperature cures, I'm sure we'll be revisiting it again in the future! Thanks for watching.
When you had the mould on the screen (34:00), you then went on to make a pattern (and then, physically, a mould from it). Can you please tell us why you didn't just CNC the model of the mould straight away, and use that to make your part?
This is a valid question which quite a few people ask. This is for a couple of reasons, firstly the longevity of a tooling board will only allow for a small number of demoulding before the tool begins to wear. For some, very low level production runs, it is possible to machine a mould directly from tooling board however, a composite mould will last much longer and allow for a higher number of mouldings to be made. The second is the CTE of the materials, Ideally the mould should be made from the same material as the parts to be made, this means that they will expand and contract at the same rates. This helps to reduce pre release of the part during curing which can occur if the mould and part and tool expand and contract at different rates during the cure cycle.
On the topic of drones, the website shows that the lightest weight glass and carbon fiber sheets are ideal for RC model aircraft. Could we get a video or series demonstrating that process? If possible it’d be greatly appreciated.
In a basic sense yes, however it would need to have been designed and analysed with that construction method and also careful consideration would need to be taken for assembly, bonding, strengthening joins, hard plate locations etc to ensure it can perform as required for its intended load case and use.
Hey, i would like to 3d print a multi-part mould and do a vacuum bag, wet layup. What filament would you reccomend to use for printing the mould? My first thought was to pick something that does not bond with your polyester resin (i got a bucket of that and need to use it on something haha) so i could coat the mould in polyester resin and then laminate the epoxy part onto it. This would propably be relatively easy to de-mould but the issue is that the polyester resin will deform pla prints. Have you done any research on wether, for example petg is compatible with being coated in polyester resin? Greetings from germany!
PETG is generally great for moulds and patterns as the PETG naturally releases from most resin systems meaning the main concern is mechanical grip around the layer line detail.
Ultimately it depends on a few factors, type of mould, use of mould and the size. They (and some other variables) can influence the design of the mould laminate you end up using.
For low volume applications, prototyping etc, you certainly can use the EB700 Epoxy Tooling block as a mould. However, in general and for most uses, a proper composite mould, as shown, offers better durability and finish for the tooling.
I am confused. We use the actual finished cover and its dimentions to make the first mould. After we do the surface split, the top of the model becomes the top of the mould. and than when we make the part (use fibers), the top of mould becomes bottom/inside of the model. dont we loose the tickness and dimentions of the original part by doing all that?
The moulds are female compared to the male part. So the internal dimensions of the mould fit over the part model perfectly. When you lay up into the mould, the amount of material determines the part thickness. The external dimensions stay the same.
Good question, it really depends on the geometry of the model you're working from, I find that tangent surfaces can often result in bad geometry around complex edges, but that said give it a try and if the results look good then it's fine, there's no exact science to creating a trim allowance.
@@easycompositestv Always interesting to hear others opinion on this, vacuumbucks looks quite similar to these and they always extended surfaces with a curvature continuity. But as you said, some surfaces will go inverted if the surfaces are 👎 from the start. Isn't it common outside automotive to have a masterline to reference the model's drafts to? 🤔
*Abstract* Composite mold design is a fundamental aspect of producing high-quality composite parts. This video outlines key design considerations within CAD environments for creating effective molds. It emphasizes the importance of features like trim allowance, flanges, parting lines, and strategic use of draft angles to ensure easy part release. Additionally, the integration of mold clamping elements for accurate alignment is discussed. The video covers both single-piece and multi-piece mold designs, with specific techniques for generating stock, creating mold cavities, and adding clamping features. While the provided instructions are tailored to Fusion 360, the underlying principles can be broadly applied to other engineering CAD software. Disclaimer: I used gemini ultra 1.0 (on 2024.02.24) to summarize the video transcript. This method may make mistakes in recognizing words
plug/mold is made from softer, brittle material that can be machined easily, if you damage it you need to re-cnc it and cnc stock material is quite expensive too. Much better to make a strong fiberglass mold from the soft plug which you can re-use many times without fear. Also easier to sand/finish a convex shape
Thanks for the question. While it is possible to do this for prototypes and one-offs the reason that you would make a mould from a pattern is that you want the mould to have the same CTE (thermal expansion) rate as the part you are making, so for these carbon fibre parts you want a carbon fibre mould. Another advantage it that you can quickly make more moulds from a pattern for volume production.
I've learned so much from this dude over the past 10+ years its actually crazy, and its free! unbelievable great work
Thanks for sticking with us, let's see where we're at in another 10 years!
same here!! since those old time videos!! i do it as a job because of this dude toooo!!! its amazing to see the evolution of all these! i wish we had easy composites in BRASIL!!!
SAME!!! been following since i was in college and couldnt afford anything. now i just started to create molds and was able to produce carbon fiber parts for my motorcycle. I owe it to this man and his company. greetings from Philippines.
Agreed with all the above, I wish we had Easy Composites in Australia. It's difficult to get all the right gear, dodgy tacky tape and peal ply, trying to make do with whatever you can find! The previous bloke with Mini bonnet absolutely blew my mind 10 years ago, this information is absolutely priceless!!
wow i can’t believe it’s been 10 years since i saw their first video. that’s actually insane
The quality of the production and content of these videos never ceases to amaze me. Thank you for making these!
@31:57 - That absolute fire insert shot of slamming that num pad!! 🔥
Haha, yeah, gotta throw in some action shots! CAD is a tough sport and I play it hard!
I am honestly more excited for new Easy Composites videos than Hollywood movies these days. Thanks for delivering outstanding content and making the world a smarter and more capable place.
Thanks Landon, we enjoy making them so stay tuned for more that we've got in the pipeline and in production already!!
Having no knowledge of CAD, the explanation was easy to understand. Thanks for sharing!
Glad it was helpful! the principles can be applied to most CAD packages once you start learning one.
You know, as a truck driver, that had nothing to do with anything you guys do, and consequently will never be a customer, I just want to thank you for the high quality videos you put out on the process. I'm obsessed with them. It's incredibly interesting how it all works, and I appreciate you guys being so thorough. I literally watch every video you guys come out with. The dude in the video is a great presenter.
Just wanted to let you guys know that your video's reach even those who aren't potential customers, and provide a great deal of entertainment.
Glad you enjoy the videos.
Been following since i was in college and couldnt afford anything. now i just started to create molds and was able to produce carbon fiber parts for my motorcycle. I owe it to this man and his company. greetings from Philippines. i guess learning CAD is our next goal haha
you guys are single handly describing every step of a very complex manufacturing technique in such a comprehensible and great way one video at the time. Without you guys, formula student teams around the world wouldn't be able to make the carbon fiber parts of their cars 🤣👏
I've become a composites expert over the past decade thanks to your incredible video. Thanks for your passion and dedication to teaching. I haven't made a single part from composite, but I know I could thanks to you.
Cool! This is next level! Your tutorials are growing exponentially in quality and usefulness. Thank you for your work!
Thanks for the kind words, we realize this video won't really be for the casual viewer but glad to hear you found it useful, that's why we do them!
Glad we are able to help and share the knowledge.
@@easycompositestv I love the very in depth videos. They are very useful especially when learning about other things like 3d printing and machining.
Do you know, being a 3d modeler from the 90's, your designs does remind me of that style of modelling.
Software like Z brush can create the best edge loops geometry you've ever seen, for real.
: ]]
Fun fact for you Steve, both of the parts for this video were modelled in VR using gravity sketch. It's been a game changer for me when doing surface modelling... So fast!
I used to build composite tail rotor blades for attack helicopters. This channel is always a joy to watch as the information and techniques are spot on!
Im a member of my university's baja sae team and I wish i had this video sooner. Making the molds has been a trial and error process for us and a lot of the tips in this video were things I found out after machining a ton of molds. Hopefully in the future our molds come out much better!
Glad it helps.
So glad you put this out! I've been pulling my hair out this week trying to design a mold for my first pre preg part. Perfect timing for me
Glad it timed in well for you, yeah the design doesn't quite stop at the component, we had a look around and realised that this was a subject that had not really been covered before.
What a time to be alive! A world of decentralized manufacturing is upon us.
Composites has always been a bit decentralised, but I agree this is an amazing time to be in any form of engineering!
This was really good, im a journeyman tool and die maker with about 5 years of experience designing injection molds in solidworks. Fun watching those skills applied to carbon composites
Thanks so much for continually producing content like this. It's unimaginably informative and helpful. Now I just wish you guys had a US-based shipping hub available!
Best educational content in this field on RUclips. Giddy each time one of these comes out.
I'm mainly a 3d printing guy with no composite making experience nor appetite to do one. Making mold is so complicated I think I need a degree just to do it. But this video proves me wrong. Thank you for the free education
Incredible, man. I'm so glad y'alls business model allows and encourages free knowledge of how to use the product to it's fullest. These are invaluable videos. Thank you so much.
Our mantra has always been to share the knowledge rather than keep it secret and hidden.
The fundamental value of knowledge you are teaching in these videos is incredible ! As a start-up maker I'm following closely. As payback, I'll be sourcing materials from you. Thanks and Regards !
That's great to hear and thank you for the support :)
This channel is absolutely teach you about composite material from start to finish!!!
This is really really great. I have learnt a lot in this one video and haven't skipped a small portion even. Hats off to your work!
Oh yes, I want more of those high quality, in depth CAD tutorials !
This is amazing!!!! I’m looking to 3D print molds, and this will be useful. Thank you for making these videos, the quality keeps getting better and better!!!!
Lovely videos, very informative, precise and detailed. Kindly keep the text overlay subtitles smaller and lower without blackground, so that they do not hide the video and main subject of interest.
Thanks for your feedback. The CC subtitles are generated by RUclips itself so unfortunately we have no control over their placement or style. We can try to consider this for future videos though.
Every single video you release is such a pleasure to watch. The work you all do is brilliant. Thank you for all the free advice and different guides and tutorials. I always leave your videos feeling inspired and with more knowledge and understanding than I arrived with. Awesome mate.
Glad we are able to help.
Watching you model in the parting line made me really appreciate CATIA's Reflect Line tool, which would have done that automatically. Great video!
Thanks for the comment, yeah you get what you pay for! I was surprised that Fusion didn't have the functionality for parting lines (that I could find) most packages do.
I love my luck and what the universe brings me. I have been trying to learn how to cut a body from a meshbody and I asked the 'experts' about it a few weeks ago, on numerous facebook groups. I was getting a lot of useless answers and my project got stalled because I had an uneven surface and I needed to use it as a tool to cut another body from. I have spend this last weekend also looking for the solution, without success (reading about b-rep and boolean stuff). So, out of boredom and frustration, I've decided to just watch some composite-related stuff and relax and vent my frustration. I thought I was going to lose consciousness when the video reached the 13th minute and I accidentally saw the solution to my 2-3-week search. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its our pleasure - we really get a kick out of making these videos and the help it can give so it is always great to hear they're working for people :)
Watch your video at the beginning of your channel years ago and just got back into carbon and wow same persone same amazing knowledge probs sir big giant props
Thanks for coming back to us after all this time. Yep as one of the founders/owners of the company Paul's been here from the very start. Although we like think we've improved the production quality of the videos a little since then, our dedicated studio has certainly helped.
Fantastic video! I would love for the next episode in this series for you to cover CAD Techniques for ply design/creation for complex parts. Thank you for all of the hard work and amazing knowledge!
Some CAD packages will have advanced composite tools within them, or available to buy, to help with some part of the design process. The same goes with FEA tools to help you analyse the design. Similar with ply template and cutting tools.
Awesome. I've been watching this RUclips channel for a long time. It's exciting it's new it's revolutionary❤
Superb detailed runthrough, always appreciate the effort you put into making these videos. The backcatalogue of knowledge is getting quite comprehensive.
Thanks for the comment, plenty more to come, I don't think we've scratched the surface yet!
Awesome tutorial, you have helped me so much with production methods.
Wow - I love that you are sharing your knowledge in such a great way - thanks!
Thanks for the appreciation, 'share the knowledge' is literally our company strap line so I'm glad we're doing it right!
Phenomenal video. I feel smarter already.
Well done for presenting this topic with such clarity. I guess one thing to add would be scaling of the pattern since you are curing at an elevated temperature, unless i missed this point within the video.
It depends how precise and relevant that is for your specific application, but most CAD packages have a relatively simple scaling function should you need to do this.
I would like to see the video of the internal layup of the aircraft fuselage.
Thanks again, your videos are very helpful.
Stay tuned! ;)
Great video. I'd like see another on carbon fiber flat pattern design. Going from 3D model to 2D patterns for the part fabrication.
Its great to see the old video's and see how far he has come in 10+ years and what is now possible to what was possible over 10 years ago. I have spoken to this guy over messages a few times and he is always so helpful. Is there a way of doing any injection moulding with carbon fibre yet or are you just making parts on the computer for plugs?
Plastic injection moulding is not a composite process at this level yet. Resin infusion and resin transfer moulding processes do exist albeit they are slightly different in both the approach and technique. There are some overlap with some composite processes, eg infusion uses vacuum in a bag to draw resin into the mould. Forged carbon fibre is a compression moulding process between 2 tools. So there is some cross over in some areas albeit there is not injection moulding in the traditional plastics sense.
No words brother thanks for everything you sharing with us
I have watched so many of your companies videos you guys made me choose motorsports over aeronautical for BEng, thankyou!
Is it possible for you guys to make a video on design considerations on the final parts themselves? Like how to plan the structure for known loads and then testing with finite element analysis? I have looked around and there seems to be only a few solutions available (at huge cost lol) for composite FEA? Thanks!
Generally CAD tools with such features are only available on the higher end CAD packages or as paid add on features which makes availability not easy. You may be able to access through your uni engineering department such software.
@@easycompositestv thanks, I'll check!
Always a good day when there's a new Easy Composites video. One question. Is there any scaling factor that needs to be applied to the parts to fit precisely to the intended application or are the as measured dimensions accurate because there's not an issue with shrinkage when molded and laid up in this fashion?
It depends how precise and relevant that is for your specific application, but most CAD packages have a relatively simple scaling function should you need to do this.
Superb as always.
I'm glad to be one of your happy customers 🙂
Always good to hear from a happy customer! Thanks for watching and thanks for using us for your materials!
Again, an amazing video. I didn´t know how to properly make a parting line, now I know, Thank you
You're welcome! There are a few ways to do parting lines but this method will work regardless of your CAD package, thanks for watching and commenting!
Thank You so much for all of the information over the years. Is there any chance of a video for bladder molding into an aluminum split mold? I am on the hunt for bladder making materials at the moment. Thanks again!
Its something we might cover in a future video. The bladders are generally bespoke to each application with different people having different preferred materials and methods so it is hard to give an easy solution that works for all/most.
great presentation again. it will take me a few views to follow it all, but its all useful stuff, thanks EC.
Loving your content 😍😍 I think after multiple tutorials, I found myself in this world😅 Just out of curiosity, can you make a suspension control arms using forged carbon? Would be it applicable on the normal car? And how would you need to reinforce it? Thank you😊🥰
It would entirely be down to specific design calculations. Its unlikely to be seen on any road cars as often cost dictates the retention of traditional steel pressed parts. It may theoretically be possible on some race parts.
Frigging phenomenal video!!! PLEASE SIR, MAY I HAVE SOME MORE !!!
Thanks for watching. Hit subscribe to get notifications when we launch our next tutorial.
i love that joystick thingy you have for moving in 3d, mind sharing what that is? been doing 3d work for years as a hobbyist and yet to see such a stand alone controller!
It is known as a "Space mouse" and there are a few different models.
Best quality videos, as always! ❤️
Now I'd like to see a follow-up video when you're laminating both of these elements 😀
The engine cover we will laminate in a future video, the component itself is something we’ve made for another RUclips channel (V8Creative). The fuselage will feature next in a video about the machining of the pattern and laminating the mould. No current plans on laminating the fuselage but you never know.
Excellent video!! Very didactic!
Whenever i make a composite part i feel like I need a holiday after making the pattern and mold CAD but this, blimey 🤯🤯🤯
I take my laptop on holiday with me to fix this problem! Thanks for watching.
Incredibly helpful and thoughtful video! Thank you so much! Hoping for more like this.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, I'm pleased to hear you found it helpful, that's why we make them!
I was hoping to see what will be done to the backside of the engine cover. I'm trying to figure out a good way to add the parts that will be attatched to the top of the engine.
We aren't quite finished with the engine cover just yet so keep an eye out for the next installment. Generally speaking the mounting features can be one of the more complex challenges to overcome as the injection moulding process usually used for these components is allows for much more intricate geometry to be produced. Quite often it's a case of salvaging mounts off an original part and bonding them in place or fabricating a bracket in place of the original.
Could you guys do a video on how you went about designing the brake lever mold you used in your 3D printed mould video? I think that would pair greatly with that video!
A lot of what you see in this video would apply especially using the original lever body to cut from stock to get a mould shape.
Thanks for the great videos.
Did you manage to avoid bridging on the locating features/Clamping bushes (35:00) without any radius?
Br
Thanks for the feedback. Yes the features are pretty small so bridging wasn't really an issue due to the way it was lamainted. The laminating video will be ready soon so keep an eye out for that. It'll probably go live on the website first, so check back in the next week or so to see how we did it.
@@easycompositestv Thank you for the quick reply.
I will look forward to the upcoming video.
Hello. Are you planning to make a second part of this video? It would be great if you continued making the drone. Namely the wings and tail. Thanks for your work. I'm looking forward to the new videos, they're like a breath of fresh air in the world of composites.
There will be another video that features the UAV fuselage but that one will cover the machining of the pattern and the laminating of the mould sections. We do also plan to do something on wing construction so you might be in luck there!
It will be wonderful! I'm looking forward to it!))))@@easycompositestv
Great video! Why don’t you invert the cnc mold and use that as a final mold instead of making two? 😄 thanks for all the knowledge you shared 😄
For very short production runs or proof of concept/prototyping, machining the mould from tooling board would be fine; however, for production runs and repeated heat cycling of the tools, you need much more durability than a machined model board tool could offer. You can also use the pattern to make a number of tools rather than machining multiple tools.
@@easycompositestv Great response! Thank you 🙏🏻😄
Hey Easy Composites, awesome video! I had a quick question, regarding mold cutting - what tolerances do you typically need for a CNC machine/router?
For the parts shown, we have not added dimensionally or scaled the part for machining purposes. The parts are not super critical dimensionally so no additional tolerance is needed for the CNC machining and finishing processes being used.
I'm sorry if this is not the appropriate comment section for this question.
But what are the chances that you will explore basalt fiber composites in a video or as a product?
I find it really fascinating that, what's basicaly a spun natural rock can have almost as high of strength as carbon fiber, and I would love to see a deep dive from you guys into that topic.
It isn't out of the question that we'll do something in the future but currently it isn't a product we carry in our range so unlikely to be a topic covered in the very near future.
Superb presentation, as always!
What, no pictures of the drone flying gracefully over a local lake?
Once again, this was a very helpful video. I liked the simple way of finding a split line on an uncooperative part, and the introduction of the mold clamping bushes along with best practices for using them.
Haha not in this one, but I'm going to need to make some wings for that bird in a future video, I don't think I'll resist taking it up! Glad you liked the info on the bushes, not something that's been well covered before so I hope people will find it useful.
@@easycompositestv I do think that when you talk about patterns and molds and parts, you need to motivate a bit more why (and when) we need to make molds off the patterns vs just making parts off the patterns.
Hello, I really love your videos. There is a lot of useful information inside a the videos are well put together. Could you show, how the fuselage would be laminated ?
Thanks for the comment, stay tuned for the fuselage and wing construction!
Awesome stuff! 👍👍👍👍
Helllo ECL, really great video! I have a question, if I want the same dimensions between my orginal part on CAD and the final composite part, should I adjust the scale of the part when I create the mold? Thank you
In general no, as the pattern should be the same size as the CAD drawing, and the mould will be an exact negative of the same dimensions. For some very precise applications, scaling can be done to take into account machining tolerances, CTE during curing processes etc.
Exactly what I needed, thanks !
You're welcome, glad it was useful! Thanks for watching
Impressive. I feel like you could probably teach entire courses for people/ companies who want to go into composites. A lot of the trial and error could be avoided by attending classes with hands on experience. A lot of insanely overpriced niche parts could get so much cheaper if more people had the skills to design and produce these parts. Especially if using fiberglass instead of carbon fiber, for example.
Thanks for another perfectly well done video.. as someone working with CAD daily my brain hurt watching the flanges getting made.. with a direction of Z and am angle of 90° the flanges would be perfect and would turn around the whole part.. but apart from that, the video was good as always!
Thanks for your comment. In this case with this model and Fusion, we found this method worked best without causing any geometry issues or the tool failing to work correctly. Other models and other CAD packages may work in a more simple way.
Hey do you so ship the oven in your site to the US? I’m in Texas and can’t find a oven the size that you all sell here in the states
We sell direct from our UK site to the USA.
@@easycompositestvoh my word thank you I’ll space in the shop for it 🫡
great tutorial thanks 👍
Question/suggestion: Pls show how you design the actual part figuring out the fiber layers, their shape, total thickness etc.
Is there a feature in Fusion which can design a laminated object calculating for layers of thickness and their shape, split the shape into shapes that can be cut on a plane surface, create cutting stencils for the plies and so?
Some CAD packages will have advanced composite tools within them, or available to buy, to help with some part of the design process. The same goes with FEA tools to help you analyse the design. Similar with ply template and cutting tools.
cool to know, thanks!! @@easycompositestv
Will there be a video on 3D printing moulds as well? This was a great video but a bit out of my budget...😅
We have done this in a few of our other videos and it's a good method for ambient temperature cures, I'm sure we'll be revisiting it again in the future! Thanks for watching.
When you had the mould on the screen (34:00), you then went on to make a pattern (and then, physically, a mould from it). Can you please tell us why you didn't just CNC the model of the mould straight away, and use that to make your part?
This is a valid question which quite a few people ask. This is for a couple of reasons, firstly the longevity of a tooling board will only allow for a small number of demoulding before the tool begins to wear. For some, very low level production runs, it is possible to machine a mould directly from tooling board however, a composite mould will last much longer and allow for a higher number of mouldings to be made. The second is the CTE of the materials, Ideally the mould should be made from the same material as the parts to be made, this means that they will expand and contract at the same rates. This helps to reduce pre release of the part during curing which can occur if the mould and part and tool expand and contract at different rates during the cure cycle.
Friday and now this!
It deserves a pint or "two" 😆
Well this is now 6 hours later, how many was "two"?!
Eight!
Time fpr bed 😂
That's a really good video again! Thanks! That will be shared a lot!
Glad you liked it!
On the topic of drones, the website shows that the lightest weight glass and carbon fiber sheets are ideal for RC model aircraft. Could we get a video or series demonstrating that process? If possible it’d be greatly appreciated.
Sure thing, we have a few videos on drones (multi rotor and fixed wing) in the pipeline so stay tuned!
Thanks for sharing the knowledge, I really like this video.
It's what we do, thanks for watching!
Excited and expected video 🎉
Thanks for watching!
I use freecad working on a rear diffuser hopefully everything comes out good lol
You may find the tools used work differently or have slightly different flow paths between different CAD packages.
Can I make a carbon monocoque by bonding cored flat sheets together? Rather than the all-in one autoclave or OOA
In a basic sense yes, however it would need to have been designed and analysed with that construction method and also careful consideration would need to be taken for assembly, bonding, strengthening joins, hard plate locations etc to ensure it can perform as required for its intended load case and use.
@@easycompositestv Thanks for the response. I saw the CLK GTR monocoque, and it's boxy design made me wonder.
So needed this video ... THANK YOU ♥♥
Hey, i would like to 3d print a multi-part mould and do a vacuum bag, wet layup. What filament would you reccomend to use for printing the mould? My first thought was to pick something that does not bond with your polyester resin (i got a bucket of that and need to use it on something haha) so i could coat the mould in polyester resin and then laminate the epoxy part onto it. This would propably be relatively easy to de-mould but the issue is that the polyester resin will deform pla prints.
Have you done any research on wether, for example petg is compatible with being coated in polyester resin?
Greetings from germany!
PETG is generally great for moulds and patterns as the PETG naturally releases from most resin systems meaning the main concern is mechanical grip around the layer line detail.
I was wondering, how do you consider the thikness of the matirial designing the mold?
Ultimately it depends on a few factors, type of mould, use of mould and the size. They (and some other variables) can influence the design of the mould laminate you end up using.
Great video!
Thanks for the great video!
Could you please do a video about layup in such cavity moulds?
It is something we may cover in future videos.
great content thanks
Very interesting video, but why do you machine a master for the drone? can't you just machine the moulds directly?
For low volume applications, prototyping etc, you certainly can use the EB700 Epoxy Tooling block as a mould. However, in general and for most uses, a proper composite mould, as shown, offers better durability and finish for the tooling.
I am confused. We use the actual finished cover and its dimentions to make the first mould. After we do the surface split, the top of the model becomes the top of the mould. and than when we make the part (use fibers), the top of mould becomes bottom/inside of the model. dont we loose the tickness and dimentions of the original part by doing all that?
The moulds are female compared to the male part. So the internal dimensions of the mould fit over the part model perfectly. When you lay up into the mould, the amount of material determines the part thickness. The external dimensions stay the same.
@@easycompositestv Aaaaa. thanks for the answer. that makes more sence
Any specific reason to not extend the surfaces from the reference model in a tangent or enforced curvature?
Good question, it really depends on the geometry of the model you're working from, I find that tangent surfaces can often result in bad geometry around complex edges, but that said give it a try and if the results look good then it's fine, there's no exact science to creating a trim allowance.
@@easycompositestv Always interesting to hear others opinion on this, vacuumbucks looks quite similar to these and they always extended surfaces with a curvature continuity. But as you said, some surfaces will go inverted if the surfaces are 👎 from the start.
Isn't it common outside automotive to have a masterline to reference the model's drafts to? 🤔
This one was really good
wow i learned a ton in this ,
*Abstract*
Composite mold design is a fundamental aspect of producing high-quality composite parts. This video outlines key design considerations within CAD environments for creating effective molds. It emphasizes the importance of features like trim allowance, flanges, parting lines, and strategic use of draft angles to ensure easy part release. Additionally, the integration of mold clamping elements for accurate alignment is discussed. The video covers both single-piece and multi-piece mold designs, with specific techniques for generating stock, creating mold cavities, and adding clamping features. While the provided instructions are tailored to Fusion 360, the underlying principles can be broadly applied to other engineering CAD software.
Disclaimer: I used gemini ultra 1.0 (on 2024.02.24) to summarize the
video transcript. This method may make mistakes in recognizing words
Fusion 360❤ is fantastic
helpful thanks
Why can't you CNC the mold itself without doing extra step?
plug/mold is made from softer, brittle material that can be machined easily, if you damage it you need to re-cnc it and cnc stock material is quite expensive too. Much better to make a strong fiberglass mold from the soft plug which you can re-use many times without fear. Also easier to sand/finish a convex shape
Thanks for the question. While it is possible to do this for prototypes and one-offs the reason that you would make a mould from a pattern is that you want the mould to have the same CTE (thermal expansion) rate as the part you are making, so for these carbon fibre parts you want a carbon fibre mould. Another advantage it that you can quickly make more moulds from a pattern for volume production.
Are there any .STL or .STEP files available for download? I would like to try printing one of these on my Bambu X1C printer.
Amazing content, thank you!! if you have a branch in America I would only by from you guys
We can ship most of our products to the US with the major couriers.