Week 17
Wild Card Week
For the wild card week, I decided to use the composite materails in the lab for making something, since I have not used it for making anything before. It is an opportunity for me to see how we can use the composite materails and make something in the lab. I realized I needed a one thing to aid in loading my packages on my truck, so I decided to make a corner protector. I normally tie up packages on a truck by putting the straps directly over the boxes and I realized it damages the ends of the boxes. Which is why I decided to make my own corner protector to prevent damage to the boxes when strapped. Below is an approximate image of how the end product should look like.
Corner protector
Using Solidworks I designed the corner protector and then exported the files as DXF files and imported it into coreldraw. Photo of imported design below.
Photo of imported design to be cut
The conner protector is designed to the ratio of 500mm x 200mm. I then created ridges by cutting little rectangles that were 30mm x 200mm and stciking them togeter to form the ridges.
Laser cutting the parts
I then Assembled the parts
Mareail used, sack and fabric
Sack and Fabric
Fibre glasss film
I then placed the fibre glasss film on my mold to prevent the parts from getting stuck to the mold. I mixed the resin and then brushed it over the fabric and sack and then arranged it in four layers of sack, fabric, sack and fabric. The resin i used was alocally available resin used for fire glass, its the only one availale locally. the drying time for optimum strenght was 2 days
Brushing the resin on the materails
Putting them into the vacum seal bag and connecting the vacum pump.
Sucking the air from the vacum bag
Air all sucked out, now waiting for it to dry.
after the materail was dry
starting to remove the corner protector from the mold.
all removed, now to cut the part accurately for use
cutting to size
all cut up and ready for use
