How to cut carbon fibre
Discussion
I'm going to get someone else to do it !
www.azteccomposites.co.uk/
I believe water jet is the weapon of choice. Can't really nip down to B&Q to get one though!
www.azteccomposites.co.uk/
I believe water jet is the weapon of choice. Can't really nip down to B&Q to get one though!
Stanley knife, a very fine saw blade and the drill attachment with which one makes like 40-70 mm round holes were my weapons of choice when I cut Saabines dashboard inserts out of a 1 mm thick sheet of carbonfibre, plus the Dremel with a grinding stone for smoothing/finishing the edges.
However, be prepared to go through lots of Stanley knife blades - the stuff is rather tough...
And do wear a dust mask - carbon fibre dust is rather unhealthy.
However, be prepared to go through lots of Stanley knife blades - the stuff is rather tough...
And do wear a dust mask - carbon fibre dust is rather unhealthy.
paulcundy said:
Anyone know the best way to cut carbon fibre sheet?
Regards
Paul C
I have to cut loads of the stuff !!!
Is the sheet you have backed with a layer of fibreglass or is it resin infused under vacuum i.e. can you see the weave both sides?
For the grp backed stuff put masking tape all over the place then you can draw you shape / trace template etc.. You can then use a medium / fine plastic / aluminum cutting blade in a conventional jigsaw. Once you have cut the shape out leave the masking tape on and sand the edges with 240 grit wet and dry, moving on to 400 and higher number grits depending on the edge finish you want. Get a few blades though because they do dull down reasonably quickly. If you are particularly adept at using an angle grinder these can be very useful too. Using a thin metal cutting disc - although more effort is required to finish the item, not too bad though and inital cutting is much quicker.
Water cutting normally leaves a feathered edge and you will need to sand the egdes as above - also the gel coat can be scratched by the operator if he is not careful - after all they are used to cutting metal sheets etc so surface finish is not greatly important.
For resin infused sheet (read considerably more expensive but far higher quality) you can cut with some high quality scissors as sand the edges that much easier than the grp backed stuff.
I only use the infused sheet these days, its lighter, has a higher mechanical strength, conformes to radii far better and is a higher finished product.
Hope that helps
Regards
Graham
Is the sheet you have backed with a layer of fibreglass or is it resin infused under vacuum i.e. can you see the weave both sides?
For the grp backed stuff put masking tape all over the place then you can draw you shape / trace template etc.. You can then use a medium / fine plastic / aluminum cutting blade in a conventional jigsaw. Once you have cut the shape out leave the masking tape on and sand the edges with 240 grit wet and dry, moving on to 400 and higher number grits depending on the edge finish you want. Get a few blades though because they do dull down reasonably quickly. If you are particularly adept at using an angle grinder these can be very useful too. Using a thin metal cutting disc - although more effort is required to finish the item, not too bad though and inital cutting is much quicker.
Water cutting normally leaves a feathered edge and you will need to sand the egdes as above - also the gel coat can be scratched by the operator if he is not careful - after all they are used to cutting metal sheets etc so surface finish is not greatly important.
For resin infused sheet (read considerably more expensive but far higher quality) you can cut with some high quality scissors as sand the edges that much easier than the grp backed stuff.
I only use the infused sheet these days, its lighter, has a higher mechanical strength, conformes to radii far better and is a higher finished product.
Hope that helps
Regards
Graham
broad said:
Hope that helps
Regards
Graham
Dear Graham,
Thanks very much. Its 2mm thick resin infused sheet. I've been told the best thing is a tile cutting jigsaw blade. I have angle grinders and a tungsten carbide tipped carpenters power saw. What would be the best to attack it with?
Regards
Paul C
2mm is pretty thick for infused sheet - so it definitely doesn't have any backing? If it is a single layer then thats a heck of a lot of epoxy !!
Thats not helping is it !!! LOL !
- anywho, if you've got enough of the stuff try your different tools on the edges. Try cutting a line 10mm in from the edge with these different approaches - a centimetre off the edge shouldn't prove too wasteful.
I use small tungsten carbide discs in my dremel for more intricate work - it really depends what you are trying to achieve as an end product. As I say - have a bit of a play if you have got enough space on your sheet.
Rgds
Graham
Thats not helping is it !!! LOL !
- anywho, if you've got enough of the stuff try your different tools on the edges. Try cutting a line 10mm in from the edge with these different approaches - a centimetre off the edge shouldn't prove too wasteful. I use small tungsten carbide discs in my dremel for more intricate work - it really depends what you are trying to achieve as an end product. As I say - have a bit of a play if you have got enough space on your sheet.
Rgds
Graham
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