Laminate Sample #25: Infused E-glass / Vinyl-ester Plate

Laminate Sample #25 is about making a relatively thick plate from very heavy fiberglass and vinyl-ester resin using vacuum infusion. The finished plate is about 1/4" (5.8mm) thick, with a very (slightly too) high glass to resin ratio.

The reinforcement is a 3TEX 3Weave 54oz (about 1800g) fiberglass non-crimp fabric with heavy z-axis stitching. I bought it because it was the heaviest reinforcement I could get by the yard! Not sure if it is still available, but it serves to illustrate how heavy reinforcements aren't a big deal with infusion. Try wetting out 54oz material by hand!

The resin is a very standard Stypol Epovia infusion vinyl-ester, catalyzed with MEKP 925 at 1.5% - which was probably a little too much given the heated table and thick section.

The video also shows the use of Compoflex RF 3 which is a combination peel ply and flow media for infusion. I chickened out / wanted to show two different peel ply finishes, so added a redundant ply of coated green peel ply. The Compoflex could be extended to the edge of the part and provided there is a decent vacuum break, would be fine.

For more about infusion troubleshooting: https://explorecomposites.com/2019/11...

Check out the EC! website for dozens of article about building with composites:

https://explorecomposites.com