Smart Materials Project 1    
     
This project is to familiarize ourselves with Carbon Fiber and ways to use it.    
     
Since Carbon fiber is a very pliable material that will be mixed with eboxy to give it some stiffness, my objective is to have a stiff structure that still looks very pliable.    
     
 

I started with this machine.I want to make a mold to drape the fiber on to.

 

This machine will cut the metal sheet in to the square I need. It can also bend the piece later on.
   
  Cutting the mold to a square.
   
  I want to bend the 4 sides upwards so I have to break the corners off.
   
  Like this.
   
  the 4 corners off.
   
  I was going to use de other machine to bend the sides, but it would give me too sharp an edge and I want a rounder edge. So I just find a rod and use it to give my bend a nice radius.
   
  Bending by hand.
   
  I decided I wanted a second radius but the size of the mold was too small so I had to grab both the rod and the piece on a vice and that way bend again.
   
 

Before I apply the epoxy I make sure I have everything I need. Once the epoxy is curing, there is less time for improvisation and my hands will be all sticky to be running around finding something I forgot.

 

So I make sure I have Wax paper for both sides of the fiber, and that it covers the whole surface.
   
  I also cut some of the rods I used for bending so that they'll help in clamping the fiber to the sape of the curve.
   
  Once I applied the epoxy on both sides, I place a flat piece of metal in the middle to make sure the surface is flat, I place the pre-cut rods on the sides and I clamp the whole thing.
   
  Leave it for the night.