Re: [ATM] making carbon tubes

["RodShea" <RodShea@comcast.net>]

Cord,

>From what I can tell, tubing is often made by wrapping the 
mandrel-composite-(?bleeder+?breather+release ply) with heat shrink tape, 
instead of vacuum bagging it.  This might give you better control of the 
fabric.  I have not done this, but it seems reasonable.  I would also have 
thought it would work better to cut unidirectional CF to exact width, equal 
to diameter, for each ply, or to do all the layers of uni as one piece, 
rolled around the mandrel.  I'm guessing  the wrinkles come from excess 
width material, meaning > diameter, that becomes a problem when the vacuum 
decreases the effective diameter of the mandrel plus whatever thickness of 
cloth is under the ply that wrinkles?

Rod Shea

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cord Scholz" <cord@astro-image.com>
To: <atm@atmlist.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2006 9:01 AM
Subject: [ATM] making carbon tubes


> Hi all,
> I'm trying to make a carbon tube using an aluminum tube as a positive
> mandrel. Does anyone know ho to prevent the carbon cloth from wrinkling in
> the vacuum bag? In my first attempt I used several cloth pieces that were
> about 1" longer than the circumference of the tube and moved the seam from
> layer to layer a few inches, the result were several nasty wrinkles in the
> cf part.
> I know that there must be a way to do this with a positive mandrel because 
> I
> have a sandwich tube that was made this way but I don't how it was done
> exactly.
>
> Cord Scholz
> www.astro-image.com
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> ATM mailing list http://www.atmlist.net/
> 


_______________________________________________
ATM mailing list http://www.atmlist.net/