Make a Carbon Fiber case for your phone/device

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Anakha56
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Make a Carbon Fiber case for your phone/device

Post by Anakha56 »

http://makeprojects.com/Project/Carbon- ... imer/880/1
Technique: Carbon Fiber Primer
From MAKE Magazine

This project first appeared on the pages of MAKE magazine.

It seems as though nearly everything “high performance” these days boasts some amount of carbon fiber in its construction. Originally used in aerospace, carbon fiber has moved into the mainstream and can be found in luxury automobiles, mountain bikes, and sports equipment.

Some laptops and cellphones even use printed decals to simulate this lightweight material’s cutting-edge look. The good news is that you don’t need a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to work with carbon fiber composites. In fact, you can do it at home.

This article discusses some of the basics of carbon fiber construction and explains how to create a carbon fiber iPod case. All you need are some basic woodworking tools and skills, and the right materials. And because the same process also applies to fiberglass and Kevlar composites, these skills give you multiple ways of boosting your future projects to a new level!

Understanding Carbon Fiber

Composites are created from two or more dissimilar materials that act together as one. While concrete and plywood are technically composites, the term composite in industry has come to refer to reinforcement fibers held together in a resin matrix and formed in a mold. Carbon fiber is one of several textiles used in this class of materials. When joined together through a procedure called a layup, the fiber and the resin form a material with properties that exceed those of either constituent material.

As a rule of thumb, composites offer their greatest strength in the direction the fibers run — similar to how wood is strongest along the grain. Because of this, you can “tune” a composite’s strength characteristics by controlling and combining the directions of the fibers. If you want strength over the length of a part, simply align the fibers lengthwise. Likewise, if you’re making a tube that needs torsional (twisting) strength, it’s best to arrange the fibers helically, like springs, weaving them together with opposite rotations.

The bulleted section below describes the three most common forms of manufactured fibers: woven, unidirectional, and filament. Each general type can be produced from carbon, fiberglass, aramid (Kevlar), boron, basalt, and several other materials, which are chosen according to their particular physical properties.

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I know this is not a modding topic for PC and as such should not be here. However it is still a rather cool way to make a case for your device be it phone/tablet/mp3 player or PC ;).
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Prime
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Re: Make a Carbon Fiber case for your phone/device

Post by Prime »

Thanks Anakha.

I take a few issues with the articel though:
You go to all the trouble to purchase carbon fibre (And it's about 10x the price of fibre glass) and then you cover your mandrel with vaseline? :? Buy some decent release agent while you are buying the carbon fibre. :|

Use an appropriate brush to apply the epoxy, not a sucker stick.
Vaccum bag it for a top notch finish- and this isn't expensive to do either.
Anakha56
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Re: Make a Carbon Fiber case for your phone/device

Post by Anakha56 »

:lol: Prime thanks for the further tips, this is why we have the forum :).

Now what is a decent release agent? Vacuum bag it? How would one go about doing that? You cant just give these suggestions without a quick n dirty explanation :P.
JUSTICE, n A commodity which is a more or less adulterated condition the State sells to the citizen as a reward for his allegiance, taxes and personal service.
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