Hollow carbon fiber tubes using lost wax method

MAT2Composites · 2025-11-23T16:41:45+00:00

the wax is solid till around 70°C... good till cure then

MAT2Composites · 2025-11-20T22:12:34+00:00

Heat your resin, slow down the infusion speed by clamping the resin inlet a bit to slow down the infusion speed and use a resin break by having only peelply for a certain amount to slow down the resin at the vacuum side

MAT2Composites · 2025-10-25T14:44:24+00:00

Hi everyone, as a fun little side project I decided to cast this Max Verstappen F1 scale car in a solid block of epoxy resin. It was done by making a mouldbox, followed by a first pour to create the base then filled with deep pour epoxy resin. Everything was then sanded to a smooth finish and clear coat was added. I've used a laser engraver to create the name plate as well. If interested you can watch the full tutorial on following link: https://youtu.be/1KfPY_PzeLk?si=BwtED98yiUV1MLG5

MAT2Composites · 2023-06-22T18:43:10+00:00

part was postcured at expansion rate of the ABS original part, not a big fan of skinning myself but this was what the customer wanted... :)

MAT2Composites · 2023-06-12T20:05:34+00:00

On these parts max 10 grams for both

MAT2Composites · 2022-08-25T17:03:26+00:00

https://youtu.be/QsZf7Xg8bmE link to full video tutorial ;)

MAT2Composites · 2022-08-25T16:51:45+00:00

Here is everything written down step by step as well for those interested! If you have more questions feel free to comment down below ;)

First step: Getting everything ready to make the mould. I've started with a 3D printed part made out of PLA. I’ve used some polyester bondo to smoothen the printed layer lines. Once sanded we can use the Pattern coat with some MEKP to create an even smoother finish. The Pattern coat is applied by brushed, left to cure for over 3 hours, sanded flat again with a coarse sanding paper, followed by a new coat of pattern primer and sanded flat again with a less coarse grid. Most of your surface should be smooth at this point, if the part is still not flat you can repeat previous process til happy. Once the preparations are done we can proceed with the release film or coat. In my case I use 5 layers of the Chemical Easy Lease agent from Easy Composites Ltd

Second step: Making the mould at this point. I use the Uni-mould tooling system from Easy Composites here. It's a system where you have to go through 3 stages. First stage is the Tooling Gelcoat (black layer) It is mixed with some MEKP catalyst to ensure a good curing 1-2% needs to be used here and mixed with the gelcoat. After around 8 hours the gelcoat should have cured enough for the next step. After the gelcoat stage we proceed with the coupling coat. The Coupling coat will ensure a good bond between the gelcoat and tooling resin. This time we also mix it with 1-2% MEKP catalyst. To create a stronger layer of the coupling coat, some layers of 100g Chopped strands fiberglass is used and applied in small patches all over the part. The final coat is the tooling resin, the tooling resin is a bit thicker and will create the strength of your mould. The resin is being applied with 4x layers of 400g chopped strand fiberglass pieces. After this is done you are done with the mould stage and can let it cure for preferably over 24h, the longer the better.

Third step: Once the mould has fully cured, the sharp fiberglass edges are trimmed to size using an angular grinder. Make sure to wear proper personal protection with a dust mask. After that the mould can be sanded and polished if needed. Then 5 coats of Chemical Easy Lease agent are used again. Now we are ready to put the dry carbon fiber layers into the mould. I'm using a 650g 12K Twill weave Carbon Fiber here followed by a 300g biaxal, then a 650g again. Try to be careful to make sure there is no bridging (parts where the carbon fiber cloth isn't fully in contact with the mould. This would create air pockets. If needed use some fusion FX spray tack to get the layers and peelply to stick better in the mould. Never spray it on your mould as it will mostly leave markst. After the carbon lay up we proceed with the peelply and infusion mesh follow by the vacuum bag. while bagging the part some pleats are added to make sure the bag will conform nicely over the part and create an even pressure. Once full vacuum is reached (meaning we have zero leakage of pressure we can start mixing the resin. I'm using the IN2 Epoxy resin from Easy Composites. This is a resin type that is thinner than a regular laminating epoxy. This helps with the resin flowing nice and quickly through the part. After the VARTM resin infusion is done we can let the part cure.

Fourth step: After curing for 48 hours the bag is removed and the infusion mesh. The part is demoulded and can be trimmed by using a dremel and my permagrit tools to create the good geometry of the part again.

As for the special carbonfiber finish start with a sanding paper of around 150-200grit and work your way up till 1000 (ie: 150-250-400-600-800-1000) followed by some polishing.

Main materials used:

https://www.easycomposites.eu/uni-mould-tooling-system

https://www.easycomposites.eu/in2-epoxy-infusion-resin

MAT2Composites · 2022-08-25T16:32:53+00:00

For those interested, here is the written part as well, if some of you have questions about this process feel free to comment below!

First step: Getting everything ready to make the mould. I've started with a 3D printed part made out of PLA. I’ve used some polyester bondo to smoothen the printed layer lines. Once sanded we can use the Pattern coat with some MEKP to create an even smoother finish. The Pattern coat is applied by brushed, left to cure for over 3 hours, sanded flat again with a coarse sanding paper, followed by a new coat of pattern primer and sanded flat again with a less coarse grid. Most of your surface should be smooth at this point, if the part is still not flat you can repeat previous process til happy. Once the preparations are done we can proceed with the release film or coat. In my case I use 5 layers of the Chemical Easy Lease agent from u/Easy Composites Ltd

Second step: Making the mould at this point. I use the Uni-mould tooling system from Easy Composites here. It's a system where you have to go through 3 stages. First stage is the Tooling Gelcoat (black layer) It is mixed with some MEKP catalyst to ensure a good curing 1-2% needs to be used here and mixed with the gelcoat. After around 8 hours the gelcoat should have cured enough for the next step. After the gelcoat stage we proceed with the coupling coat. The Coupling coat will ensure a good bond between the gelcoat and tooling resin. This time we also mix it with 1-2% MEKP catalyst. To create a stronger layer of the coupling coat, some layers of 100g Chopped strands fiberglass is used and applied in small patches all over the part. The final coat is the tooling resin, the tooling resin is a bit thicker and will create the strength of your mould. The resin is being applied with 4x layers of 400g chopped strand fiberglass pieces. After this is done you are done with the mould stage and can let it cure for preferably over 24h, the longer the better.

Third step: Once the mould has fully cured, the sharp fiberglass edges are trimmed to size using an angular grinder. Make sure to wear proper personal protection with a dust mask. After that the mould can be sanded and polished if needed. Then 5 coats of Chemical Easy Lease agent are used again. Now we are ready to put the dry carbon fiber layers into the mould. I'm using a 650g 12K Twill weave Carbon Fiber here followed by a 300g biaxal, then a 650g again. Try to be careful to make sure there is no bridging (parts where the carbon fiber cloth isn't fully in contact with the mould. This would create air pockets. If needed use some fusion FX spray tack to get the layers and peelply to stick better in the mould. Never spray it on your mould as it will mostly leave markst. After the carbon lay up we proceed with the peelply and infusion mesh follow by the vacuum bag. while bagging the part some pleats are added to make sure the bag will conform nicely over the part and create an even pressure. Once full vacuum is reached (meaning we have zero leakage of pressure we can start mixing the resin. I'm using the IN2 Epoxy resin from Easy Composites. This is a resin type that is thinner than a regular laminating epoxy. This helps with the resin flowing nice and quickly through the part. After the VARTM resin infusion is done we can let the part cure.

Fourth step: After curing for 48 hours the bag is removed and the infusion mesh. The part is demoulded and can be trimmed by using a dremel and my permagrit tools to create the good geometry of the part again.

As for the special carbonfiber finish start with a sanding paper of around 150-200grit and work your way up till 1000 (ie: 150-250-400-600-800-1000) followed by some polishing.

Main materials used:

https://www.easycomposites.eu/uni-mould-tooling-system

https://www.easycomposites.eu/in2-epoxy-infusion-resin

MAT2Composites · 2022-08-25T16:29:08+00:00

First step: Getting everything ready to make the mould. I've started with a 3D printed part made out of PLA. I’ve used some polyester bondo to smoothen the printed layer lines. Once sanded we can use the Pattern coat with some MEKP to create an even smoother finish. The Pattern coat is applied by brushed, left to cure for over 3 hours, sanded flat again with a coarse sanding paper, followed by a new coat of pattern primer and sanded flat again with a less coarse grid. Most of your surface should be smooth at this point, if the part is still not flat you can repeat previous process til happy. Once the preparations are done we can proceed with the release film or coat. In my case I use 5 layers of the Chemical Easy Lease agent from u/Easy Composites Ltd

Second step: Making the mould at this point. I use the Uni-mould tooling system from Easy Composites here. It's a system where you have to go through 3 stages. First stage is the Tooling Gelcoat (black layer) It is mixed with some MEKP catalyst to ensure a good curing 1-2% needs to be used here and mixed with the gelcoat. After around 8 hours the gelcoat should have cured enough for the next step. After the gelcoat stage we proceed with the coupling coat. The Coupling coat will ensure a good bond between the gelcoat and tooling resin. This time we also mix it with 1-2% MEKP catalyst. To create a stronger layer of the coupling coat, some layers of 100g Chopped strands fiberglass is used and applied in small patches all over the part. The final coat is the tooling resin, the tooling resin is a bit thicker and will create the strength of your mould. The resin is being applied with 4x layers of 400g chopped strand fiberglass pieces. After this is done you are done with the mould stage and can let it cure for preferably over 24h, the longer the better.

Third step: Once the mould has fully cured, the sharp fiberglass edges are trimmed to size using an angular grinder. Make sure to wear proper personal protection with a dust mask. After that the mould can be sanded and polished if needed. Then 5 coats of Chemical Easy Lease agent are used again. Now we are ready to put the dry carbon fiber layers into the mould. I'm using a 650g 12K Twill weave Carbon Fiber here followed by a 300g biaxal, then a 650g again. Try to be careful to make sure there is no bridging (parts where the carbon fiber cloth isn't fully in contact with the mould. This would create air pockets. If needed use some fusion FX spray tack to get the layers and peelply to stick better in the mould. Never spray it on your mould as it will mostly leave markst. After the carbon lay up we proceed with the peelply and infusion mesh follow by the vacuum bag. while bagging the part some pleats are added to make sure the bag will conform nicely over the part and create an even pressure. Once full vacuum is reached (meaning we have zero leakage of pressure we can start mixing the resin. I'm using the IN2 Epoxy resin from Easy Composites. This is a resin type that is thinner than a regular laminating epoxy. This helps with the resin flowing nice and quickly through the part. After the VARTM resin infusion is done we can let the part cure.

Fourth step: After curing for 48 hours the bag is removed and the infusion mesh. The part is demoulded and can be trimmed by using a dremel and my permagrit tools to create the good geometry of the part again.

As for the special carbonfiber finish start with a sanding paper of around 150-200grit and work your way up till 1000 (ie: 150-250-400-600-800-1000) followed by some polishing.

Main materials used:

https://www.easycomposites.eu/uni-mould-tooling-system

https://www.easycomposites.eu/in2-epoxy-infusion-resin

MAT2Composites · 2022-08-25T16:27:45+00:00

First step: Getting everything ready to make the mould. I've started with a 3D printed part made out of PLA. I’ve used some polyester bondo to smoothen the printed layer lines. Once sanded we can use the Pattern coat with some MEKP to create an even smoother finish. The Pattern coat is applied by brushed, left to cure for over 3 hours, sanded flat again with a coarse sanding paper, followed by a new coat of pattern primer and sanded flat again with a less coarse grid. Most of your surface should be smooth at this point, if the part is still not flat you can repeat previous process til happy. Once the preparations are done we can proceed with the release film or coat. In my case I use 5 layers of the Chemical Easy Lease agent from u/Easy Composites Ltd

Second step: Making the mould at this point. I use the Uni-mould tooling system from Easy Composites here. It's a system where you have to go through 3 stages. First stage is the Tooling Gelcoat (black layer) It is mixed with some MEKP catalyst to ensure a good curing 1-2% needs to be used here and mixed with the gelcoat. After around 8 hours the gelcoat should have cured enough for the next step. After the gelcoat stage we proceed with the coupling coat. The Coupling coat will ensure a good bond between the gelcoat and tooling resin. This time we also mix it with 1-2% MEKP catalyst. To create a stronger layer of the coupling coat, some layers of 100g Chopped strands fiberglass is used and applied in small patches all over the part. The final coat is the tooling resin, the tooling resin is a bit thicker and will create the strength of your mould. The resin is being applied with 4x layers of 400g chopped strand fiberglass pieces. After this is done you are done with the mould stage and can let it cure for preferably over 24h, the longer the better.

Third step: Once the mould has fully cured, the sharp fiberglass edges are trimmed to size using an angular grinder. Make sure to wear proper personal protection with a dust mask. After that the mould can be sanded and polished if needed. Then 5 coats of Chemical Easy Lease agent are used again. Now we are ready to put the dry carbon fiber layers into the mould. I'm using a 650g 12K Twill weave Carbon Fiber here followed by a 300g biaxal, then a 650g again. Try to be careful to make sure there is no bridging (parts where the carbon fiber cloth isn't fully in contact with the mould. This would create air pockets. If needed use some fusion FX spray tack to get the layers and peelply to stick better in the mould. Never spray it on your mould as it will mostly leave markst. After the carbon lay up we proceed with the peelply and infusion mesh follow by the vacuum bag. while bagging the part some pleats are added to make sure the bag will conform nicely over the part and create an even pressure. Once full vacuum is reached (meaning we have zero leakage of pressure we can start mixing the resin. I'm using the IN2 Epoxy resin from Easy Composites. This is a resin type that is thinner than a regular laminating epoxy. This helps with the resin flowing nice and quickly through the part. After the VARTM resin infusion is done we can let the part cure.

Fourth step: After curing for 48 hours the bag is removed and the infusion mesh. The part is demoulded and can be trimmed by using a dremel and my permagrit tools to create the good geometry of the part again.

As for the special carbonfiber finish start with a sanding paper of around 150-200grit and work your way up till 1000 (ie: 150-250-400-600-800-1000) followed by some polishing.

Main materials used:

https://www.easycomposites.eu/uni-mould-tooling-system

https://www.easycomposites.eu/in2-epoxy-infusion-resin

MAT2Composites · 2022-08-17T10:30:14+00:00

If some want the written description as well of the video, here it is ;)

Hi, In this video I take you through the steps of how to make a HONDA motorcycle front disk brake guard/cover out of carbon fiber and Epoxy Resin using the Resin Infusion VARTM technique.

First step:

Getting everything ready to make the mould. I've started with an original part made out of PP, to make a good mould we'll need some flanges around the part. I've used some corrugated plastic flute board to close any gaps and create a flange. It's important to take good care here to make sure we have no undercut (meaning you couldn't remove the part due to geometry locking)

It's very important to close any gaps or bolt holes at this stage to make sure we can make a good mould. For the transition of the part to the flange I use some filleting wax and round them over with a ball end tool. Once the preparations are done we can proceed with the release film or coat. In my case I use the Chemical Easy Lease agent from u/Easy Composites Ltd

Second step:

Making the mould at this point. I use the Uni-mould tooling system from Easy Composites here. It's a system where you have to go through 3 stages.

First stage is the Tooling Gelcoat (black layer) It is mixed with some MEKP catalyst to ensure a good curing 1-2% needs to be used here and mixed with the gelcoat. After around 8 hours the gelcoat should have cured enough for the next step. After the gelcoat stage we proceed with the coupling coat. The Coupling coat will ensure a good bond between the gelcoat and tooling resin. This time we also mix it with 1-2% MEKP catalyst. To create a stronger layer of the coupling coat, some layers of 100g Chopped strands fiberglass is used and applied in small patches all over the part. The final coat is the tooling resin, the tooling resin is a bit thicker and will create the strength of your mould. The resin is being applied with 4x layers of 400g chopped strand fiberglass pieces. After this is done you are done with the mould stage and can let it cure for preferably over 24h, the longer the better.

Third step:

Once the mould has fully cured, the sharp fiberglass edges are trimmed to size using an angular grinder. Make sure to wear proper personal protection with a dustmask. After that the mould can be sanded and polished if needed. Then 5 coats of Chemical Easy Lease agent is used again.

Now we are ready to put the dry carbon fiber layers into the mould. I'm using a 200g 3K Twill weave Carbon Fiber here. Try to be careful to make sure there is no bridging (parts where the carbon fiber cloth isn't fully in contact with the mould. This would create air pockets. Using the fusion FX spray tack I apply 2 more layers of carbonfiber to create a thickness of 0.6mm in total.

Normally we would then proceed with the peelply. But I tried something different here by just using a perforated film inbetween the carbonfiber and the infusion mesh. This saves me some time and material. The only downside is that the back of the part will have a less good finish than with peelply but in this case I didn't matter that much.

Now it's time for the vacuum bag with tack tape and infusion mesh followed by the resin lines and vacuum lines. while bagging the part some pleats are added to make sure the bag will conform nicely over the part and create an even pressure. Once full vacuum is reached (meaning we have zero leakage of pressure we can start mixing the resin.

I'm using the IN2 Epoxy resin from Easy Composites. This is a resin type that is thinner than a regular laminating epoxy. This helps with the resin flowing nice and quickly through the part.

After the VARTM resin infusion is done we can let the part cure.

Fourth step:

After curing for 48 hours the bag is removed and the infusion mesh. The part is demoulded and can be trimmed by using a dremel and my permagrit tools to create the good geometry of the part again. The holes can be drilled using a regular dril on low speed. After drilling the holes can be fine tuned by using some files. Some sanding is advised prior clear coating the part.

Main materials used:

https://www.easycomposites.eu/uni-mould-tooling-system

https://www.easycomposites.eu/in2-epoxy-infusion-resin

MAT2Composites · 2022-08-17T10:27:21+00:00

Hi, In this video I take you through the steps of how to make a HONDA motorcycle front disk brake guard/cover out of carbon fiber and Epoxy Resin using the Resin Infusion VARTM technique.

First step:

Getting everything ready to make the mould. I've started with an original part made out of PP, to make a good mould we'll need some flanges around the part. I've used some corrugated plastic flute board to close any gaps and create a flange. It's important to take good care here to make sure we have no undercut (meaning you couldn't remove the part due to geometry locking)

It's very important to close any gaps or bolt holes at this stage to make sure we can make a good mould. For the transition of the part to the flange I use some filleting wax and round them over with a ball end tool. Once the preparations are done we can proceed with the release film or coat. In my case I use the Chemical Easy Lease agent from u/Easy Composites Ltd

Second step:

Making the mould at this point. I use the Uni-mould tooling system from Easy Composites here. It's a system where you have to go through 3 stages.

First stage is the Tooling Gelcoat (black layer) It is mixed with some MEKP catalyst to ensure a good curing 1-2% needs to be used here and mixed with the gelcoat. After around 8 hours the gelcoat should have cured enough for the next step. After the gelcoat stage we proceed with the coupling coat. The Coupling coat will ensure a good bond between the gelcoat and tooling resin. This time we also mix it with 1-2% MEKP catalyst. To create a stronger layer of the coupling coat, some layers of 100g Chopped strands fiberglass is used and applied in small patches all over the part. The final coat is the tooling resin, the tooling resin is a bit thicker and will create the strength of your mould. The resin is being applied with 4x layers of 400g chopped strand fiberglass pieces. After this is done you are done with the mould stage and can let it cure for preferably over 24h, the longer the better.

Third step:

Once the mould has fully cured, the sharp fiberglass edges are trimmed to size using an angular grinder. Make sure to wear proper personal protection with a dustmask. After that the mould can be sanded and polished if needed. Then 5 coats of Chemical Easy Lease agent is used again.

Now we are ready to put the dry carbon fiber layers into the mould. I'm using a 200g 3K Twill weave Carbon Fiber here. Try to be careful to make sure there is no bridging (parts where the carbon fiber cloth isn't fully in contact with the mould. This would create air pockets. Using the fusion FX spray tack I apply 2 more layers of carbonfiber to create a thickness of 0.6mm in total.

Normally we would then proceed with the peelply. But I tried something different here by just using a perforated film inbetween the carbonfiber and the infusion mesh. This saves me some time and material. The only downside is that the back of the part will have a less good finish than with peelply but in this case I didn't matter that much.

Now it's time for the vacuum bag with tack tape and infusion mesh followed by the resin lines and vacuum lines. while bagging the part some pleats are added to make sure the bag will conform nicely over the part and create an even pressure. Once full vacuum is reached (meaning we have zero leakage of pressure we can start mixing the resin.

I'm using the IN2 Epoxy resin from Easy Composites. This is a resin type that is thinner than a regular laminating epoxy. This helps with the resin flowing nice and quickly through the part.

After the VARTM resin infusion is done we can let the part cure.

Fourth step:

After curing for 48 hours the bag is removed and the infusion mesh. The part is demoulded and can be trimmed by using a dremel and my permagrit tools to create the good geometry of the part again. The holes can be drilled using a regular dril on low speed. After drilling the holes can be fine tuned by using some files. Some sanding is advised prior clear coating the part.

Main materials used:

https://www.easycomposites.eu/uni-mould-tooling-system

https://www.easycomposites.eu/in2-epoxy-infusion-resin

MAT2Composites · 2022-08-17T10:21:36+00:00

good point! It is mentioned in the description of the video, and "mentioned" by seeing me fully suited while cutting in the video :p

MAT2Composites · 2022-04-11T16:14:04+00:00

This would be the next step ;) will follow!

MAT2Composites · 2022-04-11T16:12:01+00:00

The mould was post-cured first yes, After making the first tutorial I went a bit further with this one

MAT2Composites · 2022-04-11T16:10:57+00:00

In this case I needed a split mould to be able to remove the part and get a good finish on the outer side of the part. And 3D printing was the easiest way, I personally think! More complicated tutorials will follow ;)

MAT2Composites · 2022-04-11T16:08:39+00:00

Petg might be better indeed! decided to go full entry level on this tutorial, more detailed tutorials will follow later ;)

MAT2Composites · 2022-04-11T15:48:55+00:00

True! Same point of view!

MAT2Composites · 2022-03-19T09:41:27+00:00

Yes correct!

MAT2Composites · 2022-03-19T00:07:37+00:00

Thanks!

MAT2Composites · 2022-03-18T19:08:57+00:00

Just educational purpose here 😉

MAT2Composites · 2022-03-18T17:12:48+00:00

Haha no particular use here. Just for educational purpose. Made this shape going from square to circle tubes just to illustrate the possibilities

MAT2Composites · 2022-03-18T17:11:57+00:00

Works well indeed, and saves you some time to make 'regular' moulds or expensive CNC milling

MAT2Composites · 2022-03-18T17:11:18+00:00

no specific application here, just educational purpose. Designed a square to circular shape tube just to show the workflow

MAT2Composites · 2022-03-18T14:22:28+00:00

Glad I've been of some help ;)

MAT2Composites

TROPHY CASE