New seat tech

[rockcitycafe]

Thought this was cool... experimenting and bringing all my seat designs into this new process/technology, don't know many other seats that you could do this with (I weigh 180, give or take)...

figured out a way to cram about 2x as much glass fiber into a part with the same amount of resin usually used in a hand layup process, and about 3x as much as a chopper gun, making a part that weighs no more than standard, but is ridiculously strong, so much for posts about "how do I mount this seat", mount it however the hell you want

(also, the blocks aren't really as close as they seem, the front is supported by 2x4 chunks in the middle of the block, the seat isn't resting on the cinder block as it looks in the pic, it's hard to take good pics when you're also the dead weight )

 

[MotoMadness]

Nice. Vacuum bagging it?

 

[rockcitycafe]

Yep

 

[gk45011]

Damn Sean Nice work. I thought my interceptor was taking a beating with me at 220. I wouldn't even have dared to do someting like that. That is one stout piece of work!

Gary

 

[Flugtechnik]

Next up you will get truly serious and get an autoclave.


END OF LINE

 

[rockcitycafe]

Autoclave would be awesome but at $100 a pop I don't think it would be economical for seats maybe a Britten style cb 750 frame?

 

[SouthPaw]

Anyone want to share this vacuum bag idea? I am attempting to figure out the process as I type this and It would be helpful as I am currently weighing in at a solid 240lbs and would hate to destroy a regular glass seat I am making this week.

 

[rockcitycafe]

there's a bit of tooling cost up front and a learning curve to get to where those seats are... you also need a hard mold of some kind, vacuum will crush any patternmaking foam you use to carve a seat. there's good info online that goes over the basic materials and how they work, but without a good vacuum system that can hold a constant regulated vacuum, you're just as well building it conventionally or buying ready made

 

[SONICJK]

Someone explain to me how an autoclave would be helpful in the fiberglass business?

 

[rockcitycafe]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoclave_(industrial)

 

[J-Rod10]

Someone explain to me how an autoclave would be helpful in the fiberglass business?

More-so in carbon, but it'd work with glass as well.

 

[SONICJK]

Gotcha hadn't really thought it it like that I've only used then in the biological setting for cleaning glassware and such so was a little confused haha.

 

[Flugtechnik]

Yes, an autoclave applies additional pressure to the parts as they cure, increasing the fiber density of the part, making it stronger. All "good" aerospace composite parts are cured in an autoclave.

A manufacturer that I used to work at had several this size.

Some manufacturers try and be cheap and just use vacuum bags and heat blankets.

For parts like Sean is making, an autoclave would be overkill.

In one of the labs I worked in at college, we had a large oven with vacuum lines. We used "turkey bags" for our vacuum bags so they could handle the heat.

 

[snowman]

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