Anybody know how to make stuff out of FRP? - Page 2

therighthand · 02-07-2009, 02:42 PM

Just wanna give a little more information from what I know which is not considerable.

The steps involved in creating a truly new bumper would require a significant investment. For the production of an OEM fitting quality bumper that could be used for making an unlimited number of bumpers this means CNCing a solid block as the mold. They create the CNC pattern from a CAD basis so they can play around with 1,000,000 designs before putting it into production. Obviously for anyone other than an OEM this is far too much investment. The only company I know doing something like this is Saleen.

Another form would be getting a CAD model cut into a large block of wood or specialty foam. The disadvantages of this are that the materials are affected by the heat generated through the chemical reaction of the resin and the composite.

Yet another way would be to sculp literally the shape you want by adding clay to your current peice and sculping it. Once your desired shape is there you could either make a mold by using special plastics intended for the job (look at Freeman Composites) or by using this created shape as your female then making a part on it. Then using the made part as your mold, basically make the part then on the inside filler sand and then primer and sand. Fiberglass doesn't sand well at all so doing this is the step to get a smooth and air bubble free surface. Once this is completed mold release wax the inside, spray Gel coat and lay up fiberglass.

Hope this helps give you some ideas,

Alex I.

02-07-2009, 02:42 PM	#16
therighthand The Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	Just wanna give a little more information from what I know which is not considerable. The steps involved in creating a truly new bumper would require a significant investment. For the production of an OEM fitting quality bumper that could be used for making an unlimited number of bumpers this means CNCing a solid block as the mold. They create the CNC pattern from a CAD basis so they can play around with 1,000,000 designs before putting it into production. Obviously for anyone other than an OEM this is far too much investment. The only company I know doing something like this is Saleen. Another form would be getting a CAD model cut into a large block of wood or specialty foam. The disadvantages of this are that the materials are affected by the heat generated through the chemical reaction of the resin and the composite. Yet another way would be to sculp literally the shape you want by adding clay to your current peice and sculping it. Once your desired shape is there you could either make a mold by using special plastics intended for the job (look at Freeman Composites) or by using this created shape as your female then making a part on it. Then using the made part as your mold, basically make the part then on the inside filler sand and then primer and sand. Fiberglass doesn't sand well at all so doing this is the step to get a smooth and air bubble free surface. Once this is completed mold release wax the inside, spray Gel coat and lay up fiberglass. Hope this helps give you some ideas, Alex I.