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Front wing

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downunder
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Front wing

Postby downunder » Thu Oct 13, 2016 2:12 pm

Here we go :)

First post! Thanks Toby and welcome everyone!

My idea, as always, is to build it as simple as possible, with no special tools. The idea with below mold is to give a flat surface on the bottom but curved winglets. Testing vacuum:
IMG_0073.resized.JPG
IMG_0074.resized.JPG
Created a simple wing mold from 2 Flysurfer Razor Board fins (sorry FS:). Why I made this? To get the perfect and proven foiled side with almost no sanding. Wing will be flat on one side, foiled on top. Easy. Make the mold, wax it, pour epoxy in. Cure. Done.
IMG_1706.resized.rotated.JPG
The yellow one is first run from the mold, and, more importantly, the hot water bend test. Latter about that.

Make sure all carbon is cut:
DSC_0020.resized.JPG
Placing the sanded wing on a mold exactly in the middle, marking with the pencil on the mold :
DSC_0025.resized.JPG
The wing must be balanced right, sand off more to get the thickness right and equal weight on each side. The top one is waaay thinner and lighter, will be my second wing, if ever:
DSC_0019.resized.JPG
Now, the trick to bend the epoxy wing for winglets is using hot water to soften the tips. Cut an plastic bottle on top and leave the wing in hot water for some time. Reverse the wing and that's it. It should be soft enough.

Than goes wrapping the wing with carbon, making sure SS inserts are in exact place. Usual glassing stuff. Except post curing with a silicone blanket (42C, was 12C outside:)
DSC07682.resized.JPG
That is it. The front wing is done. After taking it out from a vacuum, cutting the excess carbon, I have a nice wing :)

The SS inserts are secured with 5 carbon strips underneath, and I never drill the carbon. I think it's way better to disperse the threads with a pen and place insert through that hole. It is a bit tedious process but I am killing some time with DIY anyway ;)

All together 6 layers of carbon, 3 top, 3 bottom (plus 5 strips under SS inserts). I can't bend it. But, torsion not so strong.
IMG_1741.resized.JPG
IMG_1740.resized.JPG
Now goes the difficult part, making the wing shine :)

Enjoy

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Re: Front wing

Postby Mossy 757 » Fri Oct 14, 2016 3:40 pm

I'd highly recommend using the red Bondo glazing compound to fill in the pinholes and imperfections in the surface, then wet sand in steps to a final finish of 1000 or 1200.

The finished product is WAY smooth. My Sword2 wing and stabilizer were getting a little buzzy and unstable, so this past weekend I followed the instructions in the Delta Hydrofoil video to fill and wet sand, and it's AMAZING how much more stable the foil feels under my feet and all of the hum and buzz is gone. Since you're working from a homemade finish, this would speed up your time to get it feeling smooth since you won't have to sand all the imperfections down, the glazing compound just fills them in. This is one of the secrets of Mike's Lab's high performance race foils, he uses a ton of compound on the final finish to get them smooth and fair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsN-2T7 ... e=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oidk2I2A0tQ

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Re: Front wing

Postby Johnny Rotten » Fri Oct 14, 2016 5:24 pm

Nice DIY! love the simplicity

graphite powder and epoxy can be for pin holes.
heavy on the graphite powder to keep it easier to sand.
That'll keep the unsightly red dots off it.

The glazing compound is faster for sure. but if end beauty is your desire use graphite powder.

Also 3d printing a wing in segments or sending it to get printed is signficantly easier than mold making
Also easy to shape curves afterwards with a little heat

Some swaylocker did it using freeware. Once skinned well, it would be structurally sound. Not sure I would leave it black though I'd worry the inside would turn to goo, if doing it that method.

http://www.swaylocks.com/forums/finfoil ... sed?page=4

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Re: Front wing

Postby tahoedirk » Fri Oct 14, 2016 10:20 pm

nice walkthrough , thanks DU

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downunder
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Re: Front wing

Postby downunder » Sat Oct 15, 2016 3:02 am

Thanks guys.

The problem with any vacuum, in my opinion, is a must to build enough epoxy protective layer after taking it from a vac. For example, if building a wing (mast, or anything) core with wood, the moisture might get into the wood if outer layer is not completely sealed. Preferably with epoxy. If varnish is used, 5 to 10 layers are not unusual for ie. boats.

Hence, doing a pin holes comes after a few good epoxy layers on top of your work, otherwise one tiny dent can expose the carbon fiber which is than difficult to fix.

Re 3D printing, I am not convinced that epoxy will stick to ABS (or any plastic). It might, but there is a heaps more involved with making ABS surface ready for glassing. All this is eliminated with epoxy core.

Would be great if 3D can print with epoxy (bubble jet epoxy printer? :)

D.

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Re: Front wing

Postby Kamikuza » Sat Oct 15, 2016 3:17 am

There's a guy on seabreeze doing a 3D printed wing/fuse/stab set up . . .

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Re: Front wing

Postby revhed » Sat Oct 15, 2016 8:11 am

I made a "male" molds very similar to yours with a few differences.
I made it curved using a radius so I can make different A Rs easy, the one shown in the photo is an old one, no wood sides, mine is on loan at the moment.
P1010073.JPG
This also works for F and R wings,( stab flat side up as we all know) using this profile.
clark y 9%.jpeg
clark y 9%.jpeg (4.56 KiB) Viewed 2138 times
It has wood sides and a thin metal top that I place a 50 w light bulb inside to heat and vac sac of course.
After all is layed up and using clear plastic with white cheapest acyrl tube gun form to see better the seal, I just cover it with old blankets for insulation.
I use an ultra cheap electric (deal xtream) temp gauge liking about 45 c over night and a vac sensor liking about 3/4 bar.
Once we dial in a 3d printer, seem best to print our multiple pieces as needed, glue together then vac sac a mold.
R H

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Re: Front wing

Postby downunder » Sun Oct 16, 2016 3:08 am

RH,

I've used a light bulb and burned my project :( If used a bulb again, would put a small computer fan inside the mold to distribute the heat better.
Now that I see your profile, need to round the bottom LE on my wings. Forgotten about that. Would be better to build the curved LE in the mold but that's too much work :)

Kami
the bond between plastic and epoxy is mechanical. The bond epoxy/epoxy is chemical. In theory, we would not need a core at all, like plane wings with ribs, etc.

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Re: Front wing

Postby jaros » Sun Oct 16, 2016 7:14 am

the bond between plastic and epoxy is mechanical. The bond epoxy/epoxy is chemical. In theory, we would not need a core at all, like plane wings with ribs, etc.
The bond between allready cured epoxy and a fresh epoxy is mechanical also, i believe. But not all mechanical bonds have the same strenght, that is true.

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Re: Front wing

Postby revhed » Sun Oct 16, 2016 8:11 am

downunder wrote:RH,
I've used a light bulb and burned my project :( If used a bulb again, would put a small computer fan inside the mold to distribute the heat better.
.
Yes that can happen :o
One also needs to be careful of fire as even low wattage bulbs in a closed system get HOT,
LIKE HOT ENOUGH TO BURN SOMETHING; BE CAREFUL! :o
Your fan idea seems good.
Remember to use a cheap electric thermometer and the better idea is to use an adjustable on, off controller.
I found that even a small size and only 40 watt bulb works but that was in my cold 12 c work shop so heat lost during night.
A close builder friend who modded an old fridge layed on its side for an oven, burned it up EVEN using a temp compter controlled system as the temp gauge (cheap dealxtream) failed.
Please exercise XTREAM caution when heating lay up projects as like with charging and storing lipo batteries, fires can and will happen.
R H


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