Still waiting for my blank, eps 300, to come out of the cnc.
I would like some tips regarding the gassing, epoxy+carbon, of the space for the electrics and batteries. I was thinking about making a plug and do the “box” separately to be glued into the board before laying down carbon on the board.
Any one tried this? I would use peel ply on areas that would be in contact with the carbon for the board.
I could reuse the plug and make “compartments” for other boards.
Moulding the hatch seperately is by far the best idea! Makes life a thousand times easier and also means no need to sand the inside once it’s off the mould. Plus the whole reusable factor…
Good idea but with a mould it takes more time because a mould needs good finish and the walls should not be 90 degrees, otherwise its hard to take the box out of the mould. I just built a box for an inflatable and I had to destroy the mould…
I did a did a quick test on a smaller part and it ended just like yours Now I’ve done my homework and invested in release agents, wax and all the other good stuff needed.
I don’t care much about finish since it all will be covered by the lid. Just need enough material to protect the eps.
For me, the right plug looks like a foam food tray. Some meat trays have their inner surface covered with a anti-stick material (PE ?) looking ideal for vacuum bagging something inside (female plug). The plug could also be a male one and have this shape but made out of wood covered with release agent.
Then you have these styro /EPS fish transport boxes with adjusted lids you find for free at your local fish shop. Using a hot wire + EPS glue, you can easily cut them to your dimensions. They can easily be glued to a board and vacuumed bagged with carbon fibre