EP
240ZEP
240Z
Hood And Hatch Lid
The process of making fiberglass molds is pretty basic and I'm not going into a lot of detail here. I did want to show some highlights of the process for making the composite parts. Most parts are made in open molds with a chopper gun or hand laminated with chopped strand mat using polyester resins. You can make a decent part with this process but if you are looking for the best strength to weight ratio, vacuum bagging is the way to go. The material used are fiberglass cloth an epoxy resin.
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This is the mold for the rear hatch lid. Made, as were most of the parts, using a stock part as the basis for the plug. |
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This shot shows some of the reference lines for orienting the fiberglass cloth in the mold. For the best overall strength, the fibers should be oriented at 0 degrees, +45, and - 45 degrees to create a balanced laminate. The orientation is important because the glass fibers carry loads along their length with loads being transferred to the next fiber through the resin, in this case epoxy. |
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This material is bleeder cloth. It is required in the vacuum bagging process to provide a path for the air to escape. |
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Here the laminate is complete and the vacuum bag is in place. The hose in the center is connected to a vacuum pump and extracts all the air. This allows atmospheric pressure to compact the laminate an squeeze out the excess resin. |
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This is the finished part after trimming. It is very strong a light. The 1/8" Lexan that will be used in place of the glass weighs more than this part! |