Hand Laminating a Carbon Fibre Part Directly into a 3D Printed Mould

[@martmart6304]

Me at 3am: InTerEsTiNg

[@josecamacho5522]

Me with 5 dollars and a shitty and not dry Pla in the printer

[@rolfnilsen6385]

Finally a messy old school wet layup with modern techniques like 3D printing. Great stuff in this one. I'll definately have to try the 3D printing route.

[@motordude67]

You are the best! Great educational videos, no nonsense and straight to the point. Keep up the good work!

[@easycompositestv]

Thank you John 👍

[@Pushyhog]

So glad I made this, make more, this is the majority of your customers.

[@creedworks2797]

What he said^

[@jamestrotter7852]

Have you got their sales data to back up this claim?

[@Kurzawaa]

@@jamestrotter7852 Mr fact checker over here

[@hectorcastillo3823]

4ț UK f.c.c f

[@ViralKiller]

Instead of spending 5k on overrated car parts and spoilers, I think I will invest in this...I already have experience with 3d printers, just needed the carbon fiber bit..thank you

[@nwpsilencer]

A lot of that $5k comes from having to make the mould. Doing it your self you might save 50-60% of the cost, but it's also a lot more fun and rewarding

[@tcroft]

@Elliott Pitter wow you must be so cool

[@SpaceNavy90]

@Draven Luciano @Elliott Pitter scammers

[@VoltageLP]

Exactly, and you can print a variety of pocket vaginas if you get the right filament material

[@nathanbarrett6483]

@@VoltageLP you can always use the printer to make a silicon mold ;)

[@mguarin912]

By far one of the best instructional video channels on KZbin.

[@easycompositestv]

Thank you very much 🙏

[@timothyhanson7828]

Just wanted to say that this channel has been a fantastic resource for my University's UAV team. We used a similar process to produce our carbon fiber wings. Thank you so much for the great videos and keep up the great work!

[@sebastiannoriega8072]

How many carbon fiber sheets did you use?

[@user-cg9fe4zq8p]

Incredible, I recently bought a 3d printer to make simple brackets and interior pieces for my car, but now the possibility of making them fibreglass or even carbon fibre is amazing

[@MakingforMotorsport]

Excellent video as always! Bringing 3D printing into this is a game changer, the mould production was always the hurdle for me, can’t wait to try this!

[@OMEGOOLIEBIRD]

Great video! If you print with PLA, you don't have to worry about slip angles or even returns, as the mould can be warmed with a hair dryer and bent away from the part to release. It is a huge benefit.

[@OMEGOOLIEBIRD]

@@mattmurphy7030 yeah, they cost virtually nothing to print, so for single or low volume, they can be 'disposable'.. it does allow some benefits not possible any other way..

[@veldhuisracing]

Would you recommend PLA over PETG? Or are there any disadvantages to using PLA?

[@OMEGOOLIEBIRD]

@@veldhuisracing PLA is good because you can melt it away from the part at a fairly low temperature. But if you have a thick layup that will get hot during curing, the mould can distort, so PETG would be better.

[@chevy4x466]

Thx for sharing, I want to get into this. I was wondering if my pla would be good

[@pietrobarili4906]

We now want a “vacuum bagging a 3D printed mould” video! Very cool, thanks Easy Composites ❤️

[@JeromeDemers]

well it's not different then this tutorial kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZuVZ5Zpi5pnibM

[@robincoope5352]

I was just on the phone with our machine shop discussing how awesome your channel is for people getting into composites, and how awesome your store is for getting project supplies. Thanks!

[@easycompositestv]

Hi Robin, thank you very much. We appreciate your support 👍

[@michaelgoss]

I have no idea how I got here, but now I want to make something with carbon fiber. Great video!

[@alabrrmrbmmr]

I can't express how much I appreciate your thorough instructions!

[@easycompositestv]

You’re very welcome James

[@iliya-malecki]

3d printing engineer here, just wanted to say that i loved the video! And maybe also to point out that you (hypothetical "you", as a hobbyist, not as a full-blown composites professional) could pay a lot more attention to printing to make the mould almost perfectly smooth. With proper design and a good thick 0.8mm nozzle most of such shapes can be printed in a vase mode, say, at 0.04mm layer height, and then smoothed with a bit of dcm or elbow greace. Or sprayed with some coating to hide layer lines completely. Or dcm-smoothed and then coated. Or acetone-smoothed (if using abs) and then coated. Or... you know, the list of things that can make a perfect mould is kind of infinite

[@easycompositestv]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. In our other 3D printing tutorial we did demonstrate using an epoxy coating and the finishing to a near perfect finish; if you’re making more than one part using the mould then this is worth doing. For a one off, it’s often easier to do the finishing work on the part (because it’s in the positive shape).

[@KarSlon1]

Why not printing the part itself, bypassing mold stage completely?..

[@GrindhousePerformance]

This is EXACTLY what I was hoping to find, perfect for what I do. Thanks for your detail as always, extremely helpful.

[@hannybassfabricacionydisen8366]

Saludos y gracias por rasmitir▶️hanny bass🔊🤑fibra de carbono🤑

[@Flenderr]

Super nice that you did a tutorial on this stuff. I have been experimenting A LOT with 3D printed parts and 3D printed moulds / mould masters up to 1.35m to make CF watersport structures. One thing I found on the way is that PU epoxy primer (sold at HP-text....), is a superb primer to stick something to PETG. You only need like 50gr to coat the surface on a meter long part, but after that you can laminate glass or CF to the 3D printed structure without issues. You can't pull it off anymore. Maybe Easy Composites has a similair product. :) Another thing is printing very low infill single shelled 3D printed PETG moulds, with the infill arranged as long channels (1 infill angle) and filling them up with e.g. epoxy foam.

[@SharkWhite333]

May i ask if you have experience which coating i can use to pit permanently into the negative mold? I want to get rid of all little imperfections and layer lines but still want to be able to the the molded part out of the mold

[@sheldon...]

Another excellent tutorial with two really small details that I feel are often missed and help to demystify working with resin: cleaning the shears (I assume you just throw the brushes as they're relatively cheap) and showing the drips after it had cured (i.e. not worrying that they're there)

[@easycompositestv]

Brushes can sometimes be reused if you clean them in acetone before the resin gels. However it needs to be a good quality brush as some of the cheaper ones, the glue holding the bristles dissolves with acetone so it falls apart.

[@streaky81]

Acetone vapour smoothing ASA moulds might be a bit of a game-changer with this..

[@csabalazar8937]

hm you can smooth ASA w Acetone? Gonna try this.

[@streaky81]

@@csabalazar8937 and ABS but ABS sucks ;) Prusa did a breakdown on a poor-man's method here kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJqqYp16eqxjoaM Then again with moulds PVB and IPA might be an easier/safer solution..

[@eelcohoogendoorn8044]

​@@streaky81 Yeah just go with the PVB. Smooths fine and far better printability. Unless you are super confident in your ABS/ASA printing skills; but typically for a mold you are looking at sizable parts, so you because you got your benchy tuned in doesnt mean you are good.

[@carlfogarthy6508]

Excellent, straightforward, very informative! In my opinion this is one of the best channels on YT! Thanks

[@philippotgieter1526]

You wont believe I was just showing my son(a mechanical engineer) a design to do exactly this for a part in my classic lomax 224 car Perfect timing

[@henrycollins2478]

That’s a cool car

[@carbonarne675]

Amazing sound quality and great tutorial!

[@sebby007]

This is the first video I have seen on your channel. Your shop looks impeccable. Great content! I guess this will be my next youtube / hobby rabbit hole :D

[@kpogatchnik]

Really helpful video. I especially appreciate showing how to make fixes when things don’t turn out perfect the first time.

[@janriggert]

Exactly the tutorial I needed! Thank you so much!

[@easycompositestv]

Glad it helped!

[@icandreamstream]

This is the perfect type of content. I wouldn't be interested in vacuum sealing for 1 single one-off part usually, but now I see the process and why you'd consider it. So now I would likely actually do the vacuum sealing process. But it's really cool to know this can be done with 3D printed molds and turn out well either way.

[@easycompositestv]

Thanks for the comment, I’m glad this video has helped to explain a good reason behind at least some basic vacuum bagging.

[@TheWoeggil]

This channel is gold!

[@easycompositestv]

Thank you very much 🙏

[@acintron3Dmfg]

I was budgeting the trip for training in your facility, then covid hold everything. Soon this is over will be there, thanks for the great contents.

[@streetsweeper2942]

That makes two of us!!

[@natecampbell42]

I've been doing quiet a bit of this lately, almost always vacuum bagging. I've found that with pla and a .4mm nozzle that 3 perimeters (1.2mm wall for cura users) and 15% infill makes a mold that can withstand full vacuum. I've had this luck with both pva and mold release wax for getting parts of of the mold, with wax generally giving an easier release.

[@GhostRyderFPV]

Surprised by your result! I would have thought infill density would have had to be much higher, glad you saved me a few passes. I was also curious if the resin curing process, and the heat, would be high enough to deform PLA, so I picked up clear PETG to mold with, and see any voids. But now I can save that and use PLA instead, and save the stringing for another project. Thank you Nate, I'm looking forward to my first layup!

[@natecampbell42]

@@GhostRyderFPV Glad to hear its helpful info. I imagine that exotherm could still be an issue for warping the PLA if you pushed it too far but I've had great success with epoxy. I've also found that for one offs it's just as easy to sand the layer lines off the finished part opposed to trying to sand the female mold before laminating. If you're going to pop more then a few out of the mold it's probably worth the time to sand the mold. I haven't pushed any of the molds to failure but i have a few that I've made 4 or 5 parts out of that seem to be in fine shape.

[@GhostRyderFPV]

@@natecampbell42 _This advice is free?!_ Seriously, thank you. You've just taken the edge off the anxiety of trying this: Will the molds last, are they strong enough at 15% infill, layer line treatment on the molds. Really, thank you.

[@natecampbell42]

@@GhostRyderFPV No problem. Let us know your results

[@bjarnec1569]

Hi, thank you both for your advices! I'm going to try this soon for the very first time. Any more tips and tricks?

[@siriusbreak2212]

Seeing the prices of "carbon fiber" parts these days that aren't even real Carbon Fiber makes me wonder how much I could save in making them myself, lol. This is the 3rd video I've watched from this channel and I'm hooked! Those starter sets are quite affordable, so I may dive into one and make something simple to start. If I don't suck at it, who knows where one could go from there.

[@ALG1K]

I invested in easy composites vacuum bagging set up and I have made every single panel on my car in full carbon 😎

[@geckomaster5084]

WOW! I never expected that you could make something of this quality from home

[@easycompositestv]

Thank you for your kind comment! I'm glad you were happy with the end result, we were!

[@nick37781]

this is the greatest channel on the planet

[@TheJacklwilliams]

Excellent. An amazing example of how to take a part from prototype to finish. All within a short cycle.

[@easycompositestv]

Thanks Jack, glad you enjoyed it.

[@ianfarquharson3772]

Hi there. You are my latest KZbin channel addiction😂 It's awesome your showing how usable and accessible your products are for small to huge projects. Great video as always(so far😉).ThankQ. TkEZ.

[@calebverdught]

Wow, 530 likes in 2 hours. You guys have the best content! That proves it. Awesome work as always!

[@easycompositestv]

Thanks Caleb!

[@philip3708]

Fantastic tutorial. There are no questions unanswered. Thx!

[@Tarex_]

You could print a plug in Vase mode as a quick option to use for pressure in the corners

[@iang438]

I'm just starting out and this is the exact process I'm looking at doing!

[@easycompositestv]

Glad to help!

[@MrTimmmers]

I just saw a Japanese guy cutting carbon fibre sheets with no frayed edges, he taped over where he cut first. Got a nice clean edge.

[@jonlucas1576]

i do a lot of hand laid carbon fiber wings for drag cars . we spray clear gel coat first let it tack up 45 min then lay the carbon on the tacky surface the the resin, if we have a small air pocket we use a dremel to open it and put some clear gel coat in it. then we sand with 600/800 wet sand with 1000 the buff and wax. we make a beautiful part

[@hoss2200]

Still in love with your product and the tutorial. Thanks a bunch

[@easycompositestv]

Thanks Hoss!

[@ddewaard3265]

Interesting to see you using the mould straight from the printer. might want to give that a try. I've made a number of 3D printed moulds for wet lay-up of glass and carbon parts and I've always coated the mould surface with a Motip filler-primer layer from a spraycan, then sanded the surface to some 400 grit (tho it is possible to go to 2000 grit and polish the mould) untill the peaks of the printlines were visible and sanded smooth but the valleys were filled. It required much less post processing since the surface was already smooth. This is especially important with carbon fiber as you need to be very cautious of the tiny fibers you're sanding off, tho wetsanding really helps. Also, I've always liked to use 8mm wooden dowels and holes in the moulds to perfectly mate the mould sections for larger moulds that need to be glued together.

[@easycompositestv]

Thanks for your feedback and tips, that’s all good to hear and share. We’re generally a bit wary of rattle-can primers because the release off them can be a bit hit-and-miss (generally more miss, the amount of calls for help we get from customers who have used them!) so you might want to experiment with a product like XCR, it’s really an excellent way of coating prints 👍.

[@supertedogpriken]

Thank you so much for making these videos. i have learned more from watching your videos, then i have watching hundreds of other carbon fiber videos on youtube.

[@constantinosschinas4503]

as others commented, excellent, straight to the point videos, with great narration and pace. thanks for sharing.

[@AhilMohan]

This dude is aesthetic af

[@chazbarclay]

This channel is so thorough in explaining. Thank you guys.

[@sdevane75]

very interesting - you've taken the black-magic out of it!! thanks

[@easycompositestv]

Glad you enjoyed Stephen!

[@JohnBaleshiski]

I've been looking for a method to increase the accuracy of my layups so that I can build an aircraft as perfectly as possible. Looks like my 3d printer is about to get very busy.

[@jumuworks]

Love the combination of different techniques and retro/new technology!

[@easycompositestv]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@grand04gt]

I really want to try it! Looks like fun.....only downside for me (besides cost obviously) would be stopping lol if i had the chance i would do carbon fiber absolutely everything lol

[@nox86832]

Brilliant resources, thank you- super clear

[@jeffrysaul9296]

Me 4am: "what is this handsome man doing with resin and why is it not a useless piece of wood with colored resin"

[@GhostRyderFPV]

It IS weird to watch this - where's the "pour", the LED lights, the planing of a slab of dead tree 40 times? And not one propane torch. Sheesh!

[@thomasjohannesen1003]

@@GhostRyderFPV 😂

[@twowheels90]

Perfect timing! About to make my first glass fiber part. All these videos really help

[@donr62]

Another professional and informative video. Keep it up guys. It’s a valuable service. 👍

[@Smokkedandslammed]

This is why I bought a 3d printer! To make parts for my car!

[@davidcarltonmoreland2627]

great info :) .... I use a preval spayer to put on the pva release agent.... works real well. I usually spray 3 coats

[@georghauslschmid1038]

Many Thanks. It's really great that you covered this topic. Compact and always to the point. That was a great help for my project.

[@mitchellmitchell6938]

This is going to be awesome for custom parts on a race motorcycle

[@Lapidatum]

Thank you Ewan McGregor, excellent content!

[@kirillbez386]

amazing and thank you! purchasing a starter kit 😀

[@tgirard123]

That was super cool. I just wish i had a project...🙃

[@mf1ve]

Commenting to get this channel more attention - I've enjoyed your videos for years now.

[@davidreynolds8551]

Poly vinyl alcohol is a brilliant release agent, best way to apply it is with a small spray gun or even airbrush as the less PLA the better.

[@agentholmes369]

Waited for this topic to explain Thanks you made my project easier

[@easycompositestv]

No problem at all, glad it’s helped you.

[@PabloRamirez-cb5zz]

This channel is just perfect.

[@Thermikflieger007]

3D Printed moulds are game changer for hobby parts or prototypes. Really need to try that. Although I need more light parts than glossy surface for model airplanes ;) Great Video, thanks!

[@valderramajeria]

You could print the inside part measuring the approximate gap that should be filled by the fiber and press it together

[@fnitschke21]

Thanks for this helpfull video. Perfect explanation. I have made my first carbon part last week in the same way.

[@denniss1618]

What I would love to see is how you assembled these two parts. Did you glued them ?

[@isoslow]

Guys, you are just great! Everything is so to the point I wish all instructional vids were like this.

[@easycompositestv]

Thanks a lot, we love making them.

[@FirzasWorkshop]

Man this is how i imagine to use 3d print, this is a great video. Thankyou

[@easycompositestv]

Cheers Firza, appreciate the feedback.

[@antonwinter630]

thanks for creating this tutorial. i havent really thought about using carbon fibre, because i dont have the gear, but this looks like something i could try out in the garage

[@easycompositestv]

Thanks Anton, yes, this is very much a process that excludes no one, even if you don’t have the printer you’ll know someone who does and the chances are they’d be happy to run a print for you, many people are just looking for genuine projects to use their printer on.

[@nuchbutter]

I use the Formlabs Form 3 with the Grey Pro resin. Very little post processing needed to get amazing finishes...

[@mark6302]

3d printing is freaking amazing

[@BarnesysBuilds]

That's so cool, I will have to try!

[@D.O.T.U.K]

To remove the etchmarks from the printer, place a small cup of Acetone with the parts in a vacuume chamber for a few mins, or even lightly brush them with Acetone then quickly wipe it off! Smooth surfaces everytime.

[@OneOfTheLostOnes]

This video is amazing. So clear.

[@ACochrane]

Awesome video, I've got an SLA printer, so the layer lines should be even less of an issue!

[@benrao3297]

I’m so glad I found this channel it’s so good

[@easycompositestv]

Thanks, glad to have you on board!

[@Xsidon]

wow my new favourite company

[@FragBenitez]

Thanks for the video, again! Always happy to see a new upload from you guys

[@sjoroverpirat]

Hope you keep on doing a video a month! This is such great content. I've been watching for a long time, i can even remember when you had long hair.

[@nachocortizo3321]

Awesome video! Is there anything special when joining both halfs together? Thanks.

[@streetsweeper8592]

Hey Paul, I'm so excited for the new video(posted 7 min ago) I'm here to comment before I have a chance to watch it. Always Topp Shelf content!!! Thank you.

[@easycompositestv]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@nterry894100]

You are a total wizard.

[@lucasvu]

Very good video. Thanks

[@foolwise4703]

Nice, exactly what I was looking for! Thanks & I will be sure to check out your shop first if I build something.

[@easycompositestv]

Thank you for your comment! When you do come to build something if you require any assistance please let us know, we'll be happy to provide advice where possible.

[@foolwise4703]

@@easycompositestv Thanks, I will. But its likely I will just buy the starter kit and see how it goes. I stumbled over your channel in the context of my RC plane ideas and am now in knowledge absorbtion mode ;-)

[@wkl3968]

I like this DIY!!! I tried using 3d printed parts to make mould and do vacuum bagging. but I like this way method a lot. going to try it out.

[@easycompositestv]

That’s great, we look forward to hearing how you get on.

[@flkp1657]

Good evening, great video as always. I am very interested in the 3d files from the Drone Shell you did in the Last video. The finished Drone in the backround Looks amazing

[@easycompositestv]

I’m sure we could get those added to the project page on our website for download. It was just something Paul put together for the tutorial... I’ll have a word!

[@Steve-el9nt]

Very informative video and will be giving it a try, one thing how is the joining process done?

[@Acheiropoietos]

An abundance of good advice, thank you!

[@motoformprototyping]

Good job as always Paul

[@nazarlototskyi7830]

Every Formula Student team out there, so thats a front wing mounting for you

[@clintyoung8255]

Thanks, I'm so going to try for more info

[@0FG0]

You absolute champ, I was going to start a project like this next week, this is a fantastic resource! Thank you!

[@easycompositestv]

You’re very welcome Morton, perfect timing!

[@peterpham1782]

Always looking forward to all your videos!

[@newdeal_99]

I you paint the petg with epoxy resin it will be extremely smooth surface it fills in the layer lines beautifully

[@easycompositestv]

We show that in our other 3D printing video where we use the XCR to turn the print into a good pattern for taking a mould from. You can see how it looks here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaGtlaqorqudbM0

[@joshieqp]

You guys are awesome!

[@johnnymckissick2735]

One video I would love to see you guys make is a video on a multi piece mold built for resin infusion! You have videos on infusions and you have a video on a multi piece mold for a prepreg part, but not a multi piece mold for infusions... PLEASE!

[@easycompositestv]

The process is the same, the main difference is you will need to envelope bag.

[@johnnymckissick2735]

@@easycompositestv Yes, but there are different techniques to building an infusion mold and a mold for pre preg. An in fusion mold needs be sealed in order to pull vacuum. It would make for a more complete video library.

[@easycompositestv]

@@johnnymckissick2735 You can mould in a joggle to the mounting faces to allow a seal to be positioned where the flanges come together or a simple application of silicone (caulking gun type) can be put onto the flange before clamping them together.