Making a carbon fiber chassis

[CJCMods]

I am going to be doing a carbon fibre chassis soon I ordered my carbon fiber kit what is the best way to do this am I better off to put the realeasing agent on the actual chassis then resin and mould the carbon fiber sheet around it then pop it off or make a mould and do it that way. The chassis is a Rush Evo I am going to be doing any advice would be brilliant

 

[Nitroholic]

Make a mould, I would say. That way...if the thing sticks on the first attempt, you haven't ruined your stock chassis. You will also get a smoother finish, as you will be able to properly shape the edges.

[CJCMods]

Thankyou Nitro

[PurcyP]

Make a mould first.

 

layup isnt as simple as release agent, slap on the plys and then wait for it to cure. 

 

ideally you do the following. 

 

Make a suitable mould, for a chassis like the rush evo you are probably better off making a reverse mould, so instead of laying up from the inside, turn the chassis over so you do your layup from where you are looking, the bottom plate and sides of the chassis, not the the inside if that makes sense.

 

Now that is not to say you cant lay up with a tub like mould (laying up from the inside) its down to your skill and how you want to do it but in my opinion depending on how thick the original chassis is id go from a reverse mould and layup from there as it will be far easier to the curves and edges from the outside, rather than trying to bend n stick the plys inside. 

 

So obviously you done your mould and decided how you want to lay up.

you need to look at how thick the chassis is, this will then guide you on how many plys you wish to lay down. 

 

Ply direction, carbon fibre generally sold in home kits you do not need to worry about this, however if you are doing a combination of fibre glass and carbon fibre youll do say 2 plys of 45 degree fibre glass, one ply of carbon two plys of 90 degree fibre glass etc etc, this is what builds the strength.

 

Depending on how thick this chassis maybe, how many plys etc you may need to vac bag it, basically create an air tight seal suck all the air out and will compress your ply's.

 

I can assume the kit you have bought is wet layup so youll get your sheets of fibre and then a bottle of 2 part epoxy or similar, this is fine i did pre preg layup which is the resin already mixed in with the fibreglass so it just goes straight on like a giant sticker.

 

Really the process is easy just think it out logically, use plenty of release agent on your mould making sure its clean etc, think about your plys and youll be golden.

 

in terms of the mould id use a sheet metal mould in the basic shape of the chassis, flip it upside down and layup from the outside not in the inside.

 

hope ive helped. 

Edited April 24, 2014 by PurcyP

[CJCMods]

you have helped out a lot the kit I bought I got the gelcoat and clay with the resins and release agent that's for the mould and then I go the carbon fiber kit

[RCbutcher]

Cool hope it works out.

[evssv]

you have helped out a lot the kit I bought I got the gelcoat and clay with the resins and release agent that's for the mould and then I go the carbon fiber kit

sounds interesting. ...take sum pics as u go if u can and post em up...... I've consider doing sum motor bike parts in carbon but nothing came of it. ......

[CJCMods]

i will take a lot of pics don't worry about that thankyou for the support means alot