Basic Composites Course-Kangan TAFE, Melbourne

[Splint]

Hi Guys,
I thought I'd let you know that there is a basic composites course now running at Kangan Tafe Broadmeadows Campus. The course covers the application and repair of fiberglass, kevlar and carbon fiber, hand layups, vacuum bagging, resin infusion etc. and is suitable for the hobbyist. It runs for 7 weeks on a Thursday evening 5:30pm to 8:30ishpm. We have allready done the first evening but for anyone wishing to join in that shouldn't be an issue as the information covered over the first evening is straight from the text book which easy to learn and is provided as part of the course. The instructor is very switched on, he has worked in the aerospace industry as a composites fabricator and runs a successful business from home doing repair and manufacturing of a variety of composite products. I must mention that currently there are only five people in the class as some of the students didn't show on the first night and there is meant to be a minimum of 8 for the course to run so there shouldn't be an issue about joining in. The course cost is $420 including GST which covers all materials and text book. You will need to provide your own safety glasses and safety footwear. Go to building J, room 312.

The instructors name is Toby Orr and can be emailed at torr@kangan.edu.au His direct number is 9279 2272, I reccomend you email him as he can be difficult to contact on the phone.

Visit us:
Aerospace Industry Training Centre (AITC)
Kangan Batman TAFE Broadmeadows campus
Building J, Dimboola Road, Broadmeadows

Telephone:
[03] 9279 2672

Facsimile:
[03] 9279 2630

Email:
aitc@kangan.edu.au

Cheers
Splint

[Splint]

I thought I'd post a follow up to this thread as I have now finished the course and I'm very happy with it. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get a solid grounding on composites. It's well suited to the hobbiest as there isn't much theory work, it's mostly hands on. Some people may be a little put off by the price of the course but I strongly beleive that you could cover the cost of the course in prevented errors and wasted materials and time than if you were to try and figure things out for yourself.
There isn't a rigid curriculum, Toby makes a good effort to find out what we want to acheive and caters toward that whilst at the same time providing us with a broad knowlege of composites skills.
I've included a few images of things we did and saw during the course...

These were some of the materials we used in the course.
This was a resin infusion demo we did.
This was a vacuum bagging demo we did.
And another vacuum bag in opperation.
Some pictures of materials testing we did.
More materials testing.
More materials testing.
A foam shaped plug made from 3 blocks of poly styrene.
The plug after layup, from an idea to this point it took less than 3 hours work, all hand made.
Using Acetone to melt the Poly Styrene plug.
A trial fitment of the air scoop.

Cheers
Splint

[smoker]

I would love to attend it, but i live in Belgium.
Did they by any change record the course? DVD?
And if yes, I feel lucky, how much would they ask for it?

[Splint]

Sorry Smoker,
the only recording was the digital photos a few of us took and some video footage of Acetone being poured on the Polystyrene to melt it.
There is however, something that may be of interest to you, a DVD which if you're lucky you might find at a university library in your area. Have a look at www.grpguru.com I have seen the DVD titled Vacuum Infusion Process and it's a very good DVD, unfortunately a bit expensive to buy. Your next port of call should be suppliers of composite materials, they may have some training material which may be of interest. Here is a few links to forums and sites which discuss composites.

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum....v=start&lgnF=y

http://www.fibreglast.com/VBulletin/

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=210

http://compositeforum.werksberg.com/index.php?

http://www.racingcomposites.net/

http://www.proboat.com/

http://boatdesign.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=20

Cheers
Splint