honestly, i didn't know if this would be more appropriate here (because i'm wondering how difficult/expensive it would be to make a carbon fiber computer case) or in the garage, since carbon fiber components are more popular on cars

anywho...anyone here ever worked with carbon fiber in making their own custom pieces?

6/9/2008 1:14:11 PM

talk to AEs

6/9/2008 1:18:36 PM

why carbon fiber?

[Edited on June 9, 2008 at 1:45 PM. Reason : .]

6/9/2008 1:44:28 PM

it is expensive, and almost garunteed that it will be ugly if this is your first dozen tries.
Fiber is costly and relatively low supply over the last couple of years. Resin is cheap compared to the CF itself.
My recommendation would be to make whatever you are planning out of fiberglass then do a single layer of CF if you want.

6/9/2008 2:20:26 PM

Use something that will radiate heat better.

6/9/2008 2:53:28 PM

^^is right on. practice with fiberglass.

And if you just do CF panels, it would be pretty easy to make a computer case. If you are trying to do any bends, corners or molding, forget it. The time and cost to learn how to make good molds, practicing, screwing up over and over again, and finally getting it right will be pretty huge (several thousand bucks and hundreds of man hours of word)

6/9/2008 3:15:01 PM

doesn't carbon fiber process require a vacuum?

6/9/2008 4:59:25 PM

Quote :

"why carbon fiber?"

because i wanted to try making something with a very unique design (not to be cool or innovative, but to integrate it into my current entertainment center...and, really, it was the first thing that came to mind because i've always wanted to make something out of carbon fiber )

Quote :

"it is expensive, and almost garunteed that it will be ugly if this is your first dozen tries. Fiber is costly and relatively low supply over the last couple of years. Resin is cheap compared to the CF itself. My recommendation would be to make whatever you are planning out of fiberglass then do a single layer of CF if you want."

that's probably a good suggestion...fiberglass isn't as cool, though

Quote :

"Use something that will radiate heat better."

i thought of that...i wasn't sure how bad carbon fiber would be for heat dissipation (obviously worse than metal, but i didn't know how much worse)

Quote :

"And if you just do CF panels, it would be pretty easy to make a computer case. If you are trying to do any bends, corners or molding, forget it. The time and cost to learn how to make good molds, practicing, screwing up over and over again, and finally getting it right will be pretty huge (several thousand bucks and hundreds of man hours of word)"

any idea where you can get pre-formed panels locally? and you're probably right - i didn't think it would be TOO expensive

Quote :

"doesn't carbon fiber process require a vacuum?"

i think you can use vacuum bags, which are cheap and easily obtained

6/9/2008 5:06:26 PM

If you do decide to go with carbon fiber, get a damn good mask or something to cover your nose and some gloves that cover your forearms. When you are sanding that shit, it gets everywhere. Even after wearing a regular mask over my face, I my snot would be black when I sneezed. And the tiny little fibers will get under your skin on your hands and forearms and annoy the hell out of you.

Go with fiberglass.

6/9/2008 5:15:48 PM

Want to build something cool? Spend some quality time with a break and shear and build a steampunk inspired case from sheet copper and brass.

Anodized aluminum is always cool as well.

[Edited on June 9, 2008 at 5:27 PM. Reason : Anodized]

6/9/2008 5:26:42 PM

^^ Some people don't react much to CF. I was much, much worse when working with fiberglass than I was with CF. If you do any sanding of it, then cover your mouth and nose, but for layups, I never had any problems.



[EDIT: Dammit, I read that wrong. I thought you were looking at building a CF entertainment unit, not computer case. So a lot of the sentences below don't make sense for a computer case, but the overarching theme still does.]


It really depends on what you want to build as to how you should go about it. If you want to just make a few flat shelves that look cool, then you can just layer CF on top of some existing wood shelves. Quick and easy (maybe). If you want to make a self contained, contoured, shelving unit (such as vertical walls, horizontal shelves, and rear wall all together and smooth), then that could get tricky. You'd have to make some sort of plug/mold system before you could even get started with the CF. (Or you could just do it over wood,

I'd probably vote against it just because the initial costs are high. You need peel-ply (a type of nylon/teflon sheeting that will peel off the glue), cotton batting (to soak up the excess epoxy), epoxy (duh), some sort of waxy liquid (dammit i forgot what that stuff is called - put it on the plug or mold so you don't glue the CF to the object you're trying to replicate), some sort of vacuum bag, and a vacuum pump capable of running continuously for 4 hours or so.

The shiny, neat looking CF you see on the Tour de France bicycles is ugly as sin on the other side. The shiny side is what gets pressed directly to the plug. The side that has peel-ply and batting applied to it has a matte finish and is not even close to neat looking. You could do away with the peel-ply and batting, but then you'd have to be really good at applying the epoxy or else you'll end up with large pools of it floating around your piece.


[Edited on June 9, 2008 at 5:50 PM. Reason : see edit explanation above]

6/9/2008 5:48:13 PM

You don't have to use a vacuum bag system. You can treat CF like FG and just brush on the resin.
The vacuum bag garuntees consistent penetration and no excess thickness.
You can get premade CF panel on ebay sometimes for no too much $$.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Carbon-Fiber-Graphite-Woven-Sheet-Panel-9-x12-x4-0mm_W0QQitemZ150254670862QQihZ005QQcategoryZ34061QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem -$65

http://cgi.ebay.com/High-Strength-Carbon-Fiber-Panel-11-5-x-12-3-25mm_W0QQitemZ320261080287QQihZ011QQcategoryZ34056QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem -$35



[Edited on June 9, 2008 at 7:17 PM. Reason : .]

6/9/2008 7:11:36 PM

^also tons of googleable places online to get sheets, tubes, rods and cylinders of prefab CF.

The other thing you can do is to just get CF Vinyl with an adhesive backing and plop that over another material. I can guarantee you no one will know the difference, and it would allow you do to one dimensional curves easily.

6/9/2008 9:16:26 PM

^yeah, I'd just say get a CF vinyl and stick it on or just get some CF stickers...

6/9/2008 10:16:57 PM

Quote :

"some sort of waxy liquid (dammit i forgot what that stuff is called - put it on the plug or mold so you don't glue the CF to the object you're trying to replicate)"

Dammit I know what you are talking about but I can't remember the name of it either. It's the green stuff in the spray bottle. This is gonna bug the hell out of me now.

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 8:54 AM. Reason : Partall? Or is it PVA?]

6/10/2008 8:52:15 AM

Some sort of off-the-shelf form release agent?

Although this isn't cast-in-place concrete...

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 9:03 AM. Reason : Lol, google search shows lots of sprayable mold release agents, so much for being helpful.]

6/10/2008 8:54:22 AM

^^ PVA, you got it -- poly vinyl acrylic, or something like that. The green shit in the spray bottle. Damn, that bugged me all night.


As for doing it without vacuuming, it's possible. I'm stuck in the mindset of always using vacuum bags because if you are concerned with weight (as we were with our airplanes), then vacuuming is an absolute necessity. If you're not, then you can get by without it if you don't have any sharp edges. Flat surfaces would work fine if you want to paint the epoxy on (I'd use a roller instead of a brush), but if you want to bend the CF around any corners, you'd pretty much have to use a vacuum to keep it looking nice.


http://www.fibreglast.com/showproducts-category-Mold+Releases-23.html
polyvinyl alcohol

FibreGlast.com is a great site for pretty much everything you need.

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 9:30 AM. Reason : ]

6/10/2008 9:28:10 AM