tube part mold questions

[bgree]

Hey thanks in advance for any support, I am wanting to make some large tube parts from chopped carbon fibre,4”/100mm OD just over a meter long with small bends at each end, nothing complex, I have the parts in powder coated stainless steel so I can make a mold, however I can’t damage these parts so no sanding etc. I haven’t bought the materials yet to make a mold or lay and cure the fibre i’ve just been waiting to confirm my process. I have a rough idea of what I need and a possible solution (split mold with vacuum infusion maybe?) however if anyone has a better idea or links to some resources i’d be glad to hear it. I would also be keen to hear some product suggestions, i’m located Qld australia so preferably stuff I can get in decent quantities and shipped easily/picked up locally. these parts aren’t highly structural so I was thinking a few layers of chopped fibre should hopefully do?

[lo_0l]

On 4/10/2024 at 7:13 AM, bgree said:

Hey thanks in advance for any support, I am wanting to make some large tube parts from chopped carbon fibre,4”/100mm OD just over a meter long with small bends at each end, nothing complex, I have the parts in powder coated stainless steel so I can make a mold, however I can’t damage these parts so no sanding etc. I haven’t bought the materials yet to make a mold or lay and cure the fibre i’ve just been waiting to confirm my process. I have a rough idea of what I need and a possible solution (split mold with vacuum infusion maybe?) however if anyone has a better idea or links to some resources i’d be glad to hear it. I would also be keen to hear some product suggestions, i’m located Qld australia so preferably stuff I can get in decent quantities and shipped easily/picked up locally. these parts aren’t highly structural so I was thinking a few layers of chopped fibre should hopefully do?

Hi @bgree, welcome to Composites Community!

If you're making tubes chopped carbon fiber isn't the best choice due to the short random strands. A woven fabric where the strands interlock with each other would work much better. That said, you could use woven fabric as a base layer and chopped as an external cosmetic layer. Ideally, you'd want to find a chopped/forged prepreg if that's the look you want to go for. It exists but is very hard to find.