Anyone tried this?

Yup. Have done everything from a 120' superyacht deck, to helicopter rotor blades, with a few kit car parts thrown in for good measure!

wow

Have looked into this, dosnt seem easy or cheap to do it.

However, the benifits over wet lay up keep me intrested.

How difficult did you find it to get right?

I understand the flanges for the bagging, the vacuum set up (connectors etc) but its the placing of the resisn lines and working out how much resisn is needed for the part.

Say cycle wings, how much resisn would that take? Or how do I work out how much resisn is needed?

(I dont have moulds for cycle wings, I am just after more information)

It's not too difficult - especially for smaller parts. Just remember the following:

- the resin will always take the path of least resistance
- always use the shortest flow path for the resin wherever possible
- all pipes should be treated as disposable
- use a 'catch pot' between your part and the vacuum pump

You need more resin than what will go into the part, as some will need to stay in the pot to avoid pulling air, also it needs to fill the lines, and some will exit at the vacuum end. For a cycle wing I would think ~ 750-1000ml would more than cover it (have more on standby in case you need it!). You could work it out based upon the weight or the volume of the material you are using, but to be honest, it is just as good to use educated guess work on such a small part.

Lots of very good info here. For all those wanting a crash course in composites, I would suggest they read it all! The last few pages includes formulae for estimating quantities which may help you.

Thank you very much for information so far.

I can see why people dont use this system, its not easy (from what I have read) or cheap to start up, but for the end result it seems a no brainer.

Me to.

Mclaren SLR body Panels

Any advice?

I have resin infused alot and would say that for one off parts “PROPER “ vacuum bagging i.e. with a perforated release film and breather to collect excess resin, that this is easier, more forgiving and gives better results than infusion.

For thin i.e. light car body stuff, infused laminates you will often need flow membranes and/or special resins; if you wish to use a core you have less choice, likewise resins. Basicly infusion has great repeatability once all problems are ironed out and is great for thick laminates and big structures because all materials can be laid out dry.

In short if I wanted to do a chassis with cored structures in one hit I would infuse for small light parts I would bag every time

[Edited on 18/2/09 by orton1966]