Good day everyone!!
New member and new to mold making.
I am attempting to make a two part mold used for making a composite (carbon fiber) part similar to an airplane wing. One requirement is the part needs to remain hollow. Thinking I can use the two part mold, a pressurized bladder, prepreg CF and a heated platen to make my part.
This link is basically the process I plan to use.
Build-to-print: Done better : CompositesWorld
The part is not an actual wing but very close and not used for flying. Picture of the mold I am wanting to replicate is supposed to be attached to this thread.
My questions for everyone here is:
1. If my finished part is 5/8'' thick at the thickest point, how thick should my stock aluminum be? 2-3x the thickness of the max milled thickness? 3 x .625''= 1.875'' but thinner aluminum = cheaper mold for me.
2. How far from the edges of my stock be to the edge of my milled part? I was gonna use 2'' from all areas but don't know. Just guessing.
3. Assuming I need to use 6061 aluminum. Correct?
4. Best bladder material? I have researched this extensively and still haven't come up with great ideas. Any ideas would be BIGGLEY appreciated.
5. PSI the bladder is inflated to? Thinking 80psi. Thought I read that somewhere else.
About me...I have the Laguna IQ cnc machine with VCarve Pro for CAM and Rhino 5 for CAD.
Be well,
Dave