Molding with silicon or poly resin fiberglass?
11-19-2007, 10:27 PM
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Molding with silicon or poly resin fiberglass?
Hi guys,
Im planing on building a Grumman Albatross
HU-16 Kit. And perhaps if its successful i could market these online.
My question is, would a flexible silicon
mold be more viable then a resin fiberglass mold? Im mainly concerned
about the thin sheeting of epoxy resin i will be using together with one layer of
fiber glass lightweight sheeting as the final model kit is taken out
of the mold once cured. I intend to fill the hollow areas with urethane, such as the wings and inner side walls of the fuselage. If i pry open
the mold, it could snap the final product (kit). Obviously i will be using release agents etc.
The final dimensions would be 45" long, about 70" wide as the wing span. This will be intended for a so called large park flyer.. hahaha. And yes it would be an electric twin engine seaplane complete with landing gears. I will be trying to keep everything as lightweight as possible.
Any suggestions?
Thanks guys for your assistance. I will try and keep you updated on the progress.
cheers
Ged
Im planing on building a Grumman Albatross
HU-16 Kit. And perhaps if its successful i could market these online.
My question is, would a flexible silicon
mold be more viable then a resin fiberglass mold? Im mainly concerned
about the thin sheeting of epoxy resin i will be using together with one layer of
fiber glass lightweight sheeting as the final model kit is taken out
of the mold once cured. I intend to fill the hollow areas with urethane, such as the wings and inner side walls of the fuselage. If i pry open
the mold, it could snap the final product (kit). Obviously i will be using release agents etc.
The final dimensions would be 45" long, about 70" wide as the wing span. This will be intended for a so called large park flyer.. hahaha. And yes it would be an electric twin engine seaplane complete with landing gears. I will be trying to keep everything as lightweight as possible.
Any suggestions?
Thanks guys for your assistance. I will try and keep you updated on the progress.
cheers
Ged
11-20-2007, 03:51 PM
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RE: Molding with silicon or poly resin fiberglass?
I'm confused by your explanation. Are you making a self supporting fiberglass part or just a very light skin to be applied over a normal structure from the kit?
11-20-2007, 05:22 PM
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RE: Molding with silicon or poly resin fiberglass?
I'm not sure exactly what you're doing either but I can tell you that a silicon mold would probably not be durable enough for production purposes. You could certainly use silicon to make a few parts but probably not on a production basis, especially if you are having to flex the mold to remove the part. Just my .02 cents.
11-20-2007, 10:20 PM
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RE: Molding with silicon or poly resin fiberglass?
Possibly what your saying a silicon mold may be to flimsy such as a neg mold for wings etc.
Yes Bmathews.. Im building a plug currently, but the main question was should i be constructing the neg mold from resin or silicon. Im very sure it may last longer if i use a resin mold.
Im also curious if they sell liquid Styrofoam such as Urethane in a 2 part mixture. I would rather to use Styrofoam for the inside of the wings and possibly the fuselage because i think the stuff is alot lighter then urethane.
Thanks again.
Yes Bmathews.. Im building a plug currently, but the main question was should i be constructing the neg mold from resin or silicon. Im very sure it may last longer if i use a resin mold.
Im also curious if they sell liquid Styrofoam such as Urethane in a 2 part mixture. I would rather to use Styrofoam for the inside of the wings and possibly the fuselage because i think the stuff is alot lighter then urethane.
Thanks again.
