how to make carbon fiber?

is there like a dvd that talk about it? do u just buy the cloth and then put hardener and resin on it?

 

Carbon fiber is a cloth that is layered in a form and then baked to cure. Procuring carbon fiber cloth is almost impossible, and it is extremely expensive. The baking time is measure in weeks.

You can buy sheet stock if you want to make brackets and flat pieces. It can be cut and filed very easily. Just wear a respirator. The dust causes cancer. Quickly.

Sorry.

 

^this guy knows hizz stuff, my freind re did his hull on his jetski with carbon fiber...you dont bake it, its all resin and sanding and curing, and cursing...it took him 2 years to finish it

 

I have seen materials books at B&N bookstore. Look for Automotive DIY section, they may have them

 

I think when he is talking about baking the carbon fiber, he is reffering to when the actual pieces are made(turning it into raw material), not when you are molding them to your applications.

 

ok thanks for all the info guys so do the cf cloth have different quarity?

 

Just curious, but what are you trying to make, Battle Scar?

 

that ready mix is so smart! he can do it all

 

i have no clue, i just wanna learn. i just order a lil sheet from ebay, maybe i make me a pair of side mirror covers as tester.

 

CF is used and worked just like fiberglass. You use an epoxy resin to set the CF "cloth" on or in a mold. Radymix's recomendation of a sodacan cover is a really good one. That way you can get used to how the CF cloth molds and how fast the resins set up. Good luck and have fun.

 

i'm pretty sure the baking is referring to the actual baking of the cotton threads. Yes, carbon fiber is actually cotton strands that are baked at extremely high temps, then when its all said and done the final product is the strands of carbon left that is then weaved and held together in shape with a resin that then cures. there was a huge article about it like 3 years ago in some Spo-Com mag, i can't beleive i remember that much.

 

If you want to make it aerospace grade, than you will need to bake/cure it. Make the carbon and resin mix in a vacuum, so the air bubbles are very small or non-existing. The type of carbon fiber is important as well, is it short cut or long cut. If you just looking at making things for the bling factor, but not mission critical/load bearing, you can just get away with overlaying it on something like fiberglass, or whatever. Slap on some cheap resin and voila! EBay hood scoops. I watched how the aerospace grade stuff was made a long time ago at NWA.

 

http://www.shopmaninc.com/carbonpage.html

This is a good site. They even have how-to books and movies.

 

some other good places to check out, would be some parts/frame makers in the bike industry. I remember when the cold war ended and MTB's started to take off, a lot of military manufacturers turned to making those for a while.