The interior assembly gets fiber!
ByUpdate time! I actually livestreamed the fiber going down, although it was a huge pain. For some reason I thought it was a good idea to skip taping the edges of the fiber. Needless to say those stray fibers soon became a problem as the layers went down. I managed to keep them out of the way, and got 5 layers on before I ran out of resin. That means I’m a layer short of what I wanted to be. Although looking at the finished assembly, it’s likely thick enough, but I’m going to give it one more anyway. I had a little trouble sliding the outer mold in place. The resin kept sticking to the mold and pulling it down with it. Doh, why didn’t I wrap plastic around it before the mold?! That would have taken care of the problem, and I’d be done. As it is, now I’ve got to sand and add the last layer anyway. Mostly for cosmetic reasons mind you. The outer mold caused some wavy weaves because of the sticky resin… and I just can’t have that. I’m out of resin though, and will have to order more before continuing.
Well, enough of that. On to the pics! Here I’m using a template to cut out the layers of CF.
Obviously I couldn’t take pics while wrapping, but here is the mold all clamped up.
Now it was time to see if that mold wax release was going to do it’s job. I had a total of 3 layers on, so I was pretty confident. Success! The outer mold released without an issue. Here you can see the interior assembly in it’s freshly released state. There are a few spots that didn’t get completely ‘covered’ with resin, but it’s hardly an issue. There was complete saturation and it’s damn solid!
Finally, I took the dremel and cut off most of the excess fiber. You can see the interior mold is still in place. There’s a good reason for that. It is cut to the exact dimensions that the assembly needs to be. During the final cut down, I’ll use the interior mold as a guide to make sure everything is cut correctly. Without it, I don’t think measuring out where I needed to cut would have been so fun…
At this point I’ve got to get some more resin ordered. In the meantime I’ll sand down and prep the interior for the last layer of CF. Then I can start making holes in it for all the components and wiring. Woohoo!
How much have you spent on carbon fibre and resin so far?
I’ve probably spent about $300 so far. I think I’ll need at least another $200 to finish.
hi Craigbru. i dont know if u remember me from ASUSROG forums but i did a CF bag last night and i have a few ?? how do i get the shine without messing up CF. mine didn’t come out all shiny after i pulled it out. so should i put another layer on and maybe use a different peel ply?? thanks
Hey there, I do remember you. In order to get the shine, you’ll need to add a layer of straight resin. Sand lightly once dry, and add more resin again. The biggest thing to watch out for, is that you don’t sand down to the carbon fiber. You’ll definitely mess up the weave if you do that. Do you have pics up at ROG? I’ve been temporarily sidetracked and haven’t visited in a while. (As a sidenote, you are more than welcome to repost in the forums here too. We’ve got a friendly crew).
here is a link over at coolermaster forums.
http://forum.coolermaster.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=14766
and thanks i’ll just do another layer after i do some serious sanding because i have some uneven edges and then i’ll add some resin.:) thanks again Craig
Wow, that looks great! I was reading through the log, and it seems you ran into the same problem I had a few times. The resin would start to cure before you could get all the layers on. It’s an art I tell you, and I’ve still not mastered it. The end results are worth it though. I’ve bookmarked your thread and will be watching. Keep it up man!
thanks Craig! i am gonna sand some more and use some filler in some spots but it should work out thanks to your work log on ROG and some google…(:
Not a problem. Good luck!
Hey Craig I just finished frame work for intervals I’ll update my worklog this weekend. Tomorrow I have to finish CF. Cut and buff…:) then off to lanfest for mod comp.
Didn’t get done for lanfest but I finished today. It looks alright. Wish I had some cash I’d redo the CF. O well I’ll shine it up some more and maybe it’ll be alright.
Hey Craig here it is
http://casemod2011.coolermaster.com/profile.php?u=157&c=2
Don’t forget to vote if it’s worthy.
Very sweet work man. I love the technique you used.
thanks Craig. I just won case mod over at Asus ROG Formula X event in Cali. so u should see in upcoming CPU magazine. and here’s something Bill over at Mnpctech put together on my build.. thanks again Craig!
http://www.mnpctech.com/casemodblog/2011/07/05/carbon-fiber-diablo-azul-pc-by-pcjunkie209/