Aluminum mold design questions


Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Aluminum mold design questions

  1. #1
    Registered
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2
    Downloads
    1
    Uploads
    0

    Default Aluminum mold design questions

    Good day everyone!!

    New member and new to mold making.

    I am attempting to make a two part mold used for making a composite (carbon fiber) part similar to an airplane wing. One requirement is the part needs to remain hollow. Thinking I can use the two part mold, a pressurized bladder, prepreg CF and a heated platen to make my part.

    This link is basically the process I plan to use. Build-to-print: Done better : CompositesWorld

    The part is not an actual wing but very close and not used for flying. Picture of the mold I am wanting to replicate is supposed to be attached to this thread.


    My questions for everyone here is:

    1. If my finished part is 5/8'' thick at the thickest point, how thick should my stock aluminum be? 2-3x the thickness of the max milled thickness? 3 x .625''= 1.875'' but thinner aluminum = cheaper mold for me.

    2. How far from the edges of my stock be to the edge of my milled part? I was gonna use 2'' from all areas but don't know. Just guessing.

    3. Assuming I need to use 6061 aluminum. Correct?

    4. Best bladder material? I have researched this extensively and still haven't come up with great ideas. Any ideas would be BIGGLEY appreciated.

    5. PSI the bladder is inflated to? Thinking 80psi. Thought I read that somewhere else.

    About me...I have the Laguna IQ cnc machine with VCarve Pro for CAM and Rhino 5 for CAD.

    Be well,
    Dave

    Similar Threads:
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Aluminum mold design questions-wingmold-jpg  


  2. #2
    Member mactec54's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    15362
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Aluminum mold design questions

    davidtown

    I would not mess with a bladder, they do work ok, making/machining a solid core would most likely be easier to work with, and could be accuracy fitted to the face of the mold ( open end ) for alignment

    Mactec54


  3. #3
    Registered
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2
    Downloads
    1
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by mactec54 View Post
    davidtown

    I would not mess with a bladder, they do work ok, making/machining a solid core would most likely be easier to work with, and could be accuracy fitted to the face of the mold ( open end ) for alignment

    Thanks for the reply. I know even less about what you are describing but will research it.



  4. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    683
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by davidtown View Post
    Good day everyone!!

    New member and new to mold making.

    I am attempting to make a two part mold used for making a composite (carbon fiber) part similar to an airplane wing. One requirement is the part needs to remain hollow. Thinking I can use the two part mold, a pressurized bladder, prepreg CF and a heated platen to make my part.

    This link is basically the process I plan to use. Build-to-print: Done better : CompositesWorld

    The part is not an actual wing but very close and not used for flying. Picture of the mold I am wanting to replicate is supposed to be attached to this thread.


    My questions for everyone here is:

    1. If my finished part is 5/8'' thick at the thickest point, how thick should my stock aluminum be? 2-3x the thickness of the max milled thickness? 3 x .625''= 1.875'' but thinner aluminum = cheaper mold for me.

    2. How far from the edges of my stock be to the edge of my milled part? I was gonna use 2'' from all areas but don't know. Just guessing.

    3. Assuming I need to use 6061 aluminum. Correct?

    4. Best bladder material? I have researched this extensively and still haven't come up with great ideas. Any ideas would be BIGGLEY appreciated.

    5. PSI the bladder is inflated to? Thinking 80psi. Thought I read that somewhere else.

    About me...I have the Laguna IQ cnc machine with VCarve Pro for CAM and Rhino 5 for CAD.

    Be well,
    Dave
    Do you plan on co-curing the part? Is it a production part? If you plan a co cure part switch to wet layup and use expanding pour foam while the mold is closed. Room temp cure and the part pops out just fine.



  5. #5
    Member awerby's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    5728
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Aluminum mold design questions

    In that article, they speak of a silicone rubber bladder. I don't know of any other flexible material that would withstand the temperatures required by that process. But if, as was suggested above, you go to a room-temperature process, then a lot of other materials become feasible, including fiberglass molds instead of aluminum ones.

    [FONT=Verdana]Andrew Werby[/FONT]
    [URL="http://www.computersculpture.com/"]Website[/URL]


  6. #6
    Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    683
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by awerby View Post
    In that article, they speak of a silicone rubber bladder. I don't know of any other flexible material that would withstand the temperatures required by that process. But if, as was suggested above, you go to a room-temperature process, then a lot of other materials become feasible, including fiberglass molds instead of aluminum ones.
    In a closed mold you can use a "silicon intensifier". It is a solid cast piece of silicone. It expands against the mold walls when heated. The silicon "bladder" you are thinking of may be a vacuum bag. I have never used a process that inflated a bag inside a mold so can't offer advice on that.



  7. #7
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    803
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Aluminum mold design questions

    I would make two molds
    1. for the "dis-solvable" core for the Inner mold line, pour and cure core.
    Wrap and trim for next mold.
    2. final mold for pre-preg composite and the cooking process.
    3. dissolve after cooking.

    I did a dry load, foam / cloth RTM wing while in hi-tech land.

    done this easily, and can elaborate

    Been doing this too long


Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


About CNCzone.com

    We are the largest and most active discussion forum for manufacturing industry. The site is 100% free to join and use, so join today!

Follow us on


Our Brands

Aluminum mold design questions

Aluminum mold design questions