Carbon Fiber - Molding projects - Reproduction panels

[Chuck Nukem]

Getting closer!

[TurboFource]

 

[dakazman]

 X2 what BDA said,
   I wish I can be there with you, Im trying to finish ONE car. Even with painting season coming I'm staying focused.
 You have some incredible advancements there.
Dman

[Chuck Nukem]

A long overdue update! I am on the verge of bonding both skins together for the first test part. So far so good! After going through this exercise I can appreciate why the fit of the Europa door was so famously derided. It is difficult to pull off! I think the series 1 door is probably the single most ambitious panel that lotus made. It is a finished surface on both sides, you have to locate based on the trim line, and if there is any deviation it shifts the whole door one way or another. There is a volume to the door because of the included window frame that Lotus never tried again. I made some bobbins with adhesive grooves to help with bonding. I used a coremat in the large flat sections of the door and I can say that it makes a big difference over an original! I can't wait to see one in carbon We are getting there!

[BDA]

Really nice, Chuck!!   

I guess you'll be working on S2 and TC doors next? I was thinking that they would be easier since they aren't finished on both sides but the window area is still finished. Is that going to present the same sort of problems as the S1 door?

[Chuck Nukem]

Thanks BDA Thankfully I have no plans to do the later door. I had a few reasons for doing the S1. Primarily I think it is the best looking of all the doors, they are also the lightest. The second is that I have an S1B that was in need of S1 doors, and the shipping from the UK was a motivating factor to reproduce. The last part was being able to make them out of carbon, since the S1 door has a finished interior I thought it would really look sharp

If there is any US based interest in fiberglass or carbon S1 doors here let me know. I have a few people who are committed to sets.

I am looking at doing esprit doors next. Lotus definitely refined the molding process when it came to the later cars.

[TurboFource]

Nicely done Chuck!

Love the safety flip flops 

[314159td]

Make sure you take care of those molds, nothing more frustrating that getting a little lazy on your prep work and mucking up a section, happened at work recently on a very expensive hull mold. Even just letting them sit will cause things to decay.

If you're concerned and want to make these on and off for a while, I'd recommend pulling a "glass master", basically just a really beefed up part that you leave untrimmed to make future molds from if needed.
If you get bored, doing infused panels isn't too much more work from where you are already, and can be a solid 10-40% weight savings with largely identical strength.

[Chuck Nukem]

Make sure you take care of those molds, nothing more frustrating that getting a little lazy on your prep work and mucking up a section, happened at work recently on a very expensive hull mold. Even just letting them sit will cause things to decay.

If you're concerned and want to make these on and off for a while, I'd recommend pulling a "glass master", basically just a really beefed up part that you leave untrimmed to make future molds from if needed.
If you get bored, doing infused panels isn't too much more work from where you are already, and can be a solid 10-40% weight savings with largely identical strength.

That is a great idea! I will definitely make a glass master for these parts. I am planning to do infusion on the carbon doors. I am excited to see how little they weigh. I am going to make the first set for my friend's autox car.