22 replies to this topic

[haz]

i am a carbon fibre & composite technicial by trade in the aerospace industry... how much money is there to be made in this? how much to your average roof skins and arches go for? how thick are they? does anyone know the GSM of the material and the type of weave, ie 2/2, 4/4 twill?? any VF figures?? is there much thickness variance in the component?

[andywaller]

mine came through the post from curley, no problem at all they used loads of bubble wrap and phone to check it arrive ok.

[mini_mission]

haz- if you can make top notch moulds then you will make a killing imo thats the crunch of it.

google "curley carbon fibre" to get an idea of how much this stuff retails for.

#i think# that 2/2 twill is generally used. is the 4/4 a better quality?

a few mini specific businesses have stopped making c/f stuff altogether, due to to lack of decent carbon. (see www.speakerpods.co.uk)

sorry but i dont know what your talking about for the rest lol

[Jammy]

Yea, its 2x2 twill, I think its about 300gsm, but I believe Smudger uses the same Carbon, so you could ask him. As for VF figures and thickness variance, I'm not sure.

If you have the ability to make them out of pre-preg for not much more than what Curley sells them for then you could definitely get some sales!?

[haz]

mini mission... the moulds i was thinking of making were just simple composite ones and release film or coat them... could make male tools to more accuracy but i could do a female tool too. they should be bob on if i worked from original arches in mint condition

as for twills, there is probably a bit more strength in the 4/4 twill but its a bit more awkward to work with in my experiance, they're both horrible in dry fibres though, i personally prefer 3 or 5 harness fabrics unless the curvature is complex, then you cant beat uni directional pre-preg IMO. asthetically UD isnt nice, although i should imagine it pruduces a slightly better surface to spray onto.

im thinking this could be a nice bit of money on the side for me if i can convert my garage... and somehow get a vacuum system and an autoclave from the scrappers haha... dyson and mums oven here i come


...either that or i convince people at work that the new shape of aircraft is mini...

[Jammy]

...either that or i convince people at work that the new shape of aircraft is mini...

I don't think that would be too hard given the Minis jet like aerodynamics!

[Clubby1275GT]

yea the commonly known flying breeze block!

[Clubby1275GT]

right then, i fetch my car tomorrow night after 12 weeks of it being gone, so wil check up on the roof skin then