3D Printed PLA Moulds Up To 120°C To Use With Carbon Fiber Prepreg, Will It Work?! + Finishing Parts

Hi Everyone! In this video I'll show you how it is possible, in a way, to use 3D printed moulds to make prepreg carbon fiber parts. The results are a bit mixed but I see a lot of potential and opportunities.
If you've missed previous video, make sure to check it out as well to get a better understanding on how the 3D printed moulds were made and how the first parts were made. These are the ones that are being used in the second part of the video where I do a polished finish and a glossy finish.
3D Printed Moulds To Make Carbon Fiber Epoxy Resin Tubes - How to Tutorial: • 3D Printed Moulds To M...
For this tutorial:
In the previous tutorial moulds were made printing PowerPLA from additive heroes, following link: www.3dprinthin...
These filaments are still PLA but lean a bit more to ABS features.
The moulds were then filled with the ‪@easycompositestv‬ TC80 Tool Cast Epoxy Casting Resin. Moulds were only cured, up to 60°C as I knew they were only going to be used for coldcuring resins at this stage.
As I had the idea to use these moulds for prepreg as well, a higher mould temperature is needed. Thats why I decided to put these PLA moulds to the test and possibly ruining them, but if you don't try, you don't learn so went for an extra postcuring cycle to raise the Tg value even more. To reach higher Tg values you need to gradually raise the temperature of the material in a controlled way. I went for following cycle:
2h 60°C - 1h 70°C - 1h 80°C - 1h 90°C - 2h 100°C - 1h 110°C - 2h 120°C
That way we should be able to cure at those higher temperatures to cure prepreg carbon fiber as well now. On of the possible risks is fully deterioration of resin and PLA causing it to be brittle and lose part geometry due to shrink or expansion.
After removal from the oven, no big changes were noticable, only doing a further inspection I've noticed the sharp edges had some movements as well as the flat sides were bend inwards, probably shrinkage where there was a different mass.
for the prepreg side of things I've went quite rapidly through the process as I've already covered the entire process in another video.
Carbon Fiber prepreg is applied, In this video I've used 3 layers of Easy composites XC110 210g 2x2 Twill 3k Prepreg Carbon Fibre (1250mm).
The prepreg used here was a bit outdated on shelf live but thought it would still serve it's purpose for such small test.
After the layers are applied the lay up of stacked prepreg carbon fiber is debulked (remove air inbetween the layers) using a perforated film with breather, then put into a bag and vacuum is pulled.
Before bagging everything up in the final vacuum bag a film of release film is applied, then everything is put into the bag and sealed using tacky tape. the press fit vacuum connector is then used to pull full vacuum, then everything is put into the curing oven, under vacuum, for over 8 hours.
The part wasn't perfect. The part had some bridging and pinholes. Is this caused due to outdated prepreg, something to do with the PLA chemistry, wrong curing cycle or user error? Analyzing the part and where the flaws are I would think user error. I didn't put that much time into well placing the prepreg in the mould thinking it was an easy mould, as well I've forgot to bolt the holes, where some resin might have leaked into. This could cause the part to be not as resin rich as it would need to be, causing pinholes.
I know from experience that some materials like polyurethane and polyesters tend to "sweat" residue under high temperatures which might cause some problems as well. So it can be a combination of many factors. Anyhow, I'm still pleased with the results, the moulds held well and can be used for more parts, and more testing needs to be done!
As for the finishing of carbon fiber parts I had two samples from previous tutorial. One was good, the other one had some flaws. I decided to show you 2 possible different finishes, One glossy, the other one highly polished carbonfiber. You'll mostly find highly polished carbon fiber on super cars and F1 cars. As they still want to have smooth surfaces for good airflow, but don't want to add extra weight of clear.
To fix the flaws, like big pinholes and air pockets its good practice so sand the part with 120P grit sanding paper, then coat a layer of resin on top, to fill the big flaws, then go back to sanding with a 240P grit. I've used 1K clear out of spraycan to keep everything as DIY and simple in the video. Obviously a 2K out of spraygun gives better results! but that will be for another video ;)
Gloss part: 120P, epoxy coat, 240P, Clear 2x, 320P, Clear, 1000P, 2000P, soft polish
Polished part: 240P, 320P, 500P, 1000P, 2000P, Hard polish, soft polish
Facebook: / mat2composites
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#3DPrint #Carbonfiber #Mould

[@MatthieuLibeert]

Hi everyone! thanks everyone for the great comment latey! don't take me on the poor results of this one, more content is coming the following weeks!

[@dm9103]

How about making the 3d mold as thin as you can and reinforce it with polyester?

[@romanbystander3144]

Nice :3 👍🏻

[@MatthieuLibeert]

thanks a lot! glad you've liked this video!

[@ruudjanssen14]

Dear Matthieu, First of all many thanks for all the great videos you have made. However would you be so kind to include a detailed tools and materials list for future videos? For this video I would like to know which air sander/polisher you are using, brand and type? I am also interested the brand and type of the buffer and the paste you are using. All this information helps us newbies to achieve the same professional result. Many thanks in advance and I am looking forward to the next video. Greetings from The Netherlands

[@MatthieuLibeert]

Hi Ruud, Thanks for your comment! I understand what you mean but would make everything a bit too intensive for me :D As well I wouldn't like to recommend specific materials or tools as it might be I'm happy with them, but other might not. As well due to the fact that it migh work with cheaper sanding tools. The Sander and polisher are from 3M 50mm pistol grip sander/polisher but are priced at over €450 as a kit. Polishing paste is from easy composites and can be found on their website, It's from the brand Paiboat. Greetings from your Belgian neighbor :D

[@dorianvincent2101]

@@MatthieuLibeert Ohh Matthieu you’re from Belgium! Hey from your French Neighbor haha ;))

[@dorianvincent2101]

I just started to watch, but thank you Matthieu for all these videos. I really enjoy when you release a new one!!! And that gives me much ideas for my project!

[@MatthieuLibeert]

Thank you so much for your comment! glad to hear you like them! I put so much time onto this and it's so rewarding getting comments like yours!

[@TheBigbadwhitey]

Hi Matt! At 5:50 you're pouring something into the back of the PLA mould: what is this material? Thanks!

[@PDaavyy]

Should be high temp epoxy.

[@fi2557]

Nice Video! Thanks for the good content! :D

[@MatthieuLibeert]

great to hear that! puts a smile on my face! it's hard creating content every week but this is nice to hear!

[@jparky1972]

I actually like the industrial feel of the satin effect carbon Fibre. Are there any special considerations to take into account for the coloured ( nylon strands added ) carbon fiber?

[@MatthieuLibeert]

good point, those coloured nylon or PET strands will be hard to sand and polish, so wouldn't do that

[@PASTYWHITENERDファゴト]

have you tried taking a micrometer to these molds before and after curing? i think that might be helpful in determining if theyre keeping their shape under the elevated heat.

[@MatthieuLibeert]

at this point it at first sight it was ok, but on further inspection it was noticeable without a micrometer, but might be something I'll try next!

[@spendymcspendy]

Awesome! Personally, I like the matte finish.

[@MatthieuLibeert]

Thank you! looks good indeed

[@gafrers]

Great as always. Honest. 👍👍

[@MatthieuLibeert]

my comments biggest fan! thank you for every comment on my new videos!

[@MatthieuLibeert]

I'll give you a mention in the next video for being here on every one of my videos! ;)

[@gafrers]

@@MatthieuLibeert No need thanks

[@stevesloan6775]

I like the idea of keeping the design focused on home DIY. I’ve done finishing CF at home and found just sanding/ keying the resin and then applying multiple brushed coats of resin, reapplying when tacky works really well.

[@MatthieuLibeert]

correct! That's the best way to go!

[@guinnesslover2970]

I've used easy comps a lot in the past and got good results at 120degrees for just two hours no problems

[@MatthieuLibeert]

correct works as well, every mould is a bit different so finetuning is needed here and there for temperatures of mould and prepreg

[@catalystarms7616]

What prepreg are you using and do you cure it at a constant temp or ramp up and down? Do you need a special oven? Thx!

[@MatthieuLibeert]

Xpreg from Easy Composites, ramp up till 120°c yes you would need a special oven for best results

[@catalystarms7616]

@@MatthieuLibeert ah. Ok. Thx. So you can’t just take it up to 120 and let it cure snd cool off. Thanks again!

[@MatthieuLibeert]

@@catalystarms7616 yes you could try but maybe with a less good result

[@qcnck2776]

In your opinion, what is the filament material best able to handle high temp while maintaining dimensional stability?

[@MatthieuLibeert]

Hard to say, resin printed might be better, looking into that. Otherwise PETG or Nylon I guess, but a bit harder to print

[@AllSpeed]

sports car? gloss race car? polished, or satin.

[@MatthieuLibeert]

like I said! I would go for polished carbon fiber, like on the koeningseg cars, their work is a masterpiece!

[@celloestevam]

How did you glue the two pieces together to make a pipe?

[@MatthieuLibeert]

Pipes are the parts from previous tutorial video

[@Anthony-2125]

Some of my molds were printed from PC by polymaker and they work perfectly with prepreg but I only tried the low temp curing cycle at 85 degrees C

[@MatthieuLibeert]

I'm looking into sponsoring of SLA printers that might solve many problems! stay tuned for future videos ;) great to see many carbon fiber enthusiasts here into 3d printing :D

[@dorianvincent2101]

@@MatthieuLibeert the problem with SLA is the size it gives for part but to make little part it should be perfect man I was thinking about the same idea! Just need to find really rigide and heat resistance resin too (and a SLA printer..🥲) We really probably don’t need to sand with SLA too I’m excited to see the polish carbon fiber like koenigsegg asap!! :))

[@NathanNostaw]

How UV resistant is the raw prepreg resin?

[@MatthieuLibeert]

so far I didn't have any issues with it, but I'm here in Belgium, so the sun istn't that strong here, but in general I would mostly clear them with a 2K that will block the UV

[@NickHol]

Nice duidelijke video Matthieu!

[@MatthieuLibeert]

Dank je!

[@Phil_The_Maker]

Intéressant ! Combien de temps avez vous tiré au vide avant la cuisson ?

[@MatthieuLibeert]

4h je penses, entretant je finissait un autre projet et le jour d'après dans le four 🙂

[@jeanfrancoispoivre4438]

Super matthieu 😃

[@MatthieuLibeert]

thank you! merci!

[@Trumppower]

Use PETG dude

[@MatthieuLibeert]

should work as well! wanted to try PLA first as it's easier to print

[@luis7899]

@@MatthieuLibeert PETG with 100% infill. easy composites has a tutorial on this. thank you for the video!

[@MatthieuLibeert]

@@luis7899 I'm aware of that video but petg with 100% infill wouldn't stand the 120°C maybe till 70°c

[@luis7899]

@@MatthieuLibeert there is a new filament called carbon filament with a base of PLA, and therefore increased mechanical properties. You can try that, but just make sure you upgrade your nozzle for a hardened one.

[@MatthieuLibeert]

I know about a carbonfiber with nylon and petg but didn't know about it with pla, will need to check that out, thanks