Project: OSIDIAS begins!

[Waynio]

Looking sweet & hope you get well soon bud.

[craigbru]

Thanks Waynio. I hope so too.

I was hoping to get another layer of resin on tonight, but I forgot to shut the air conditioning vent in the shop last night. It was too cool for the resin to cure as it should, but will be ready by tomorrow. Sadly, I've got plans this weekend, so I'll likely not have another big update until early next week.

[craigbru]

With the weekend come and gone, it's time I update all of you on my progress. It's not much, but as always, it's still a step forward. So, how about we get the case out of the mold? I designed the mold so that not only would it be reusable, it would be easy to remove. The first thing I did was to set the case on the workbench, and start tapping the core from one side to the other.

A few more taps...

The core removed.

Now it was a matter of removing the aluminum shell.

It's finally free! The case is completely removed from the mold. You can see a few small voids on the interior, but those are a non-issue at this point. Anything that remains after the exterior holes are cut, will be filled in with resin and leave a smooth surface behind.

Now, I'll add a few comments about the case itself. It's strong! In fact, it's shockingly strong. Sure, everyone knows carbon fiber has excellent strength properties, but until you experience it for yourself, it's a little hard to quantify. This case has almost no flex or deflection. I can press on the center of both sides with about all the strength I can muster, and it just barely moves. It's just that solid. On top of it's strength, it's also incredibly light. Also, I'm saving the rest of the surface work until after all the holes are cut. This thing will be as smooth as glass once completed. All in all, this was the perfect building material for this case, and I can't wait to start making my first cuts in it. Stick around for the fun coming up next!

[rendermandan]

Looks like I won't be the only one with a CF case anymore.

LOL, seriously, excellent job so far! Keep up the good work.

[x88x]

It looks great! Good to hear about the strength, I was worried that this would be a 'too good to be true' scenario with the incredibly cheaper fabbing process.

[craigbru]

Looks like I won't be the only one with a CF case anymore.

LOL, seriously, excellent job so far! Keep up the good work.

Thanks! I watched your project closely, and it gave me quite a bit of inspiration to work with CF myself.

It looks great! Good to hear about the strength, I was worried that this would be a 'too good to be true' scenario with the incredibly cheaper fabbing process.

Not at all, it's truly amazing. You just have a hard tome believing it until you experience it for yourself. So...

Time for another update!

Now that the case is out of the mold, I need to get it cut down to size. I use my trusted tape marking method, and prep the Dremel. That's really the only practical way to cut the case with it's uneven contours.

The first cut done. Would you believe that the CF cuts like butter with a reinforced disc? You can't drop the disc in and do a continuous cut without binding, but it you drop in every centimeter or so, it works very well.

Not only does the fiber cut extremely well, it takes to filing beautifully too. This pic was taken after filing and a quick bout with a fine grit sand paper. After cutting, I could finally get a measurement on the actual cross section of the case. It measures just under 2mm. That's even better than I thought.

With the first side done, it was time to mark the other side.

All done! The case now measures the perfect 40.6cm I needed. Up next, I'll be marking out and cutting all the holes needed in the case. Until then!

[x88x]

Nice! I always wondered about how hard it would be to cut CF. Though now that I think about it, it makes sense. I mean, after all, it's basically just fabric and resin.

[SXRguyinMA]

yea but CF will burn through regular steel tools MUCH quicker than, say, regular fiberglass will. I went through. For isntance, I went through 4 drillbits making the cribbage board. Had it been regular fiberglass I aws drilling I probably could have done it with 1, maybe 2 at most. CF is VERY strong. the fibers eat and dull steel VERY quickly. When I was making the backplate for Rockin Case, I went through 5 or 6 side cutter bits cutting that thing out, it was nuts.

[craigbru]

Nice! I always wondered about how hard it would be to cut CF. Though now that I think about it, it makes sense. I mean, after all, it's basically just fabric and resin.

Yes it is. Using a reinforced disc worked well, but CF is very hard on other metal cutting tools. For example, if I run this through my CNC, end mills wouldn't stay sharp for long. Exactly how long I'm not sure, but I'll find out soon enough.

[craigbru]

yea but CF will burn through regular steel tools MUCH quicker than, say, regular fiberglass will. I went through. For isntance, I went through 4 drillbits making the cribbage board. Had it been regular fiberglass I aws drilling I probably could have done it with 1, maybe 2 at most. CF is VERY strong. the fibers eat and dull steel VERY quickly. When I was making the backplate for Rockin Case, I went through 5 or 6 side cutter bits cutting that thing out, it was nuts.

Very well said! (You beat me to the reply button.)