turbocad's custom dual/quad headlight mod

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how about the bag they use for cake frosting (squeeze) that should be close since you have to close the bag to get the air out... good luck mann I know you have been working hard on this and you are very determined.
 
Most large syringes top out at 60 cc's/60 ML's (even equine gear) found this one at 140 cc's which is 4.6 ounces http://www.vetmeddirect.com/SyringeMonoject-140-cc-LL--pr--01101MON140LL price is 5.95 BUT I bet they will work out a volume price deal for a master craftsman......Some pretty interesting s**t out there (no pun intended) the glass collonic syringes are a lot bigger and they are much more expensive BUT they might be able to be cleaned for re-use....
 
What about a pouring the resin into a raised funnel with a small diameter hose? Assuming gravity is enough to pull the resin through the hose and you get a funnel that can be cleaned, you would only need to replace a small section of hose after each use.

Also, when you mention progressively squeezing the ketchup bottle to keep air from entering the system you are almost describing an IV system used to administer fluids in hospitals. A simplified version of that might work as well.
 
I did try the funnel & gravity thing in my last attempt, but the thick fluid does not like the add'l tubing restriction either. I picked up a few things to try this weekend...
 
trying to use squeeze bottles & just squeezing it into the mold is just no good at all, nothing but a big mess, so I decided I have to build my own injection setup & went shopping for stuff today to build it.

first I found the right squeeze bottles to build my own injector syringes. I want ~6oz capacity & I found 8oz squeeze bottles. I cut the bottom off of the squeeze bottle & turn the end around & insert it back into the bottom end of the barrel of the bottle. it is a tight fit & that itself becomes the syringe. this works just like a pre packaged tube of silicone. I decided to use a progressive not ratcheting silicone gun as the pump to apply pressure to my syringe.

I built an aluminum slotted reciever tray for the mold to slide into & support the mold & clamp it closed & keep it aligned, built some framework to hold it all togeather & mount the injector head right over the opening of the mold. I got the right size clear tubing to use to connect the injector tip directly to the fill orifice of the mold. from what I see I think there is no way this can not work, I can control the pressure & the flow while everything is well supported & secure... should be able to try it tommorow I think


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Looks good man. There are electric pump feeders out there for a WHOLE lot of money but that set-up should work just fine and the bottles are cheap......Oh, and I dig the aluminum sushi box frame, sweeeet.
 
I def need stuff to be disposable because I'm doing this at home, I want to minimize the solvents & stuff, so cleaning out & reusing stuff is difficult. these nylon bottles may release the resin like a mold though when the resin is cured & may be reusable without solvent washing, but even if not like you said there cheap & disposable if need be...
 
thanks, but what is C/P? :smile:

I tried an injection tonight, it works perfectly, no mess at all, nice & controlled & clean, I can inject slowly till it bleeds out of the vents & done. it works like it was made for this:biggrin:

the only problem I did have was I poured from the degassing container directly into the syringe & wasn't careful enough, guess I poured a bit to quick, winded up getting a lot of air bubbles re-introduced because of that, I think if I use a funnel & pour much slower that can be solved, but this first casting will have air bubbles in them. at least I'll get a real test of the mold & everything else though.

this is an awesome way to inject a mold, it really works perfect. the plunger doesn't even need to touch the fluid at all, once it inserts into the tube & is pumped down more it's an air tight fit, it pressurizes the tube & that in turn forces the resin through the mold.
 
Can you fit the squeeze bottles into your vac chamber?

In my experience, the "Cp value" describes varying results in a repeated process. To compliment the Cp value of your project is to compliment the means rather than the end.

He's basically saying that your contraptions kick ass. I agree.
 
gto said:
All this for clear lenses!?!
John, you've lost your mind! . . but watching you work is still pretty cool
Click to expand...

Dave, with that rig, he can build everything from CF wrapped (small) parts to special clear tail lights/reflectors. We have clear tails for the first gen but the second gen doesn't have it as well as many other cars..
 
haha, Dave, I know what you mean, if I had known the amount of R&D that would have went into these reflectors before I started then yeah,I really think I woulda just did the home depot specials no matter how much I hate them, but once I start something I really don't like to give up, quiting would have made everything I've done up until that point a waste, where now all I have to do is continue to produce these to recoup some of my costs & what would have been a waste instead just turns into R&D I guess

the only parts of this whole setup that is really specifically dedicated to the reflectors though is the mold & the framework for the injection thing I built, everything else is useful tools for way more than just the reflectors & I do like tools, tools are what my whole career is built on. tools are usually bought out of necessity for the job at hand but after the fact you still have the tools & can continue to use them on other projects, so I look at tools as a good investment, & I look at all the hours spent as hours of learning & gaining experience as much as actual work, when you know what your doing then it's work, but when you don't know what your doing then it's not work, it's learning & I def learned a lot from this...

any future molds I build will be much better now that I have learned from this & I've also learned enough that I can now tackle even bigger molds & larger castings with at least some experience & have a better chance of success. quiting will just get you no ware, perseverance & keep trying & trying is the only way to be successful, the more challenging the project the more you need to put into it if you want to succeed & this turned into a bit more of a challenge than I thought it would be, that's for sure, but I'm glad I did it & I can now think of more & more things I can build with these methods & actually have a chance of being able to do it... in-case you haven't noticed I do really like building things :tongue:

tonight I'll check my casting & if everything is good I'll do another hopefully with no air bubbles. I can't Degas in the squirt bottles at all. this resin is really hard to Degas, I mix 6oz in a 26oz container & even that is not enough room to Degas it, it just foams up to the top & doesn't release anything, if I apply more vacuum it'll just overflow like crazy... I need to use a gallon container just to Degas 6 oz of this resin. without enough room for expansion the air will never come out. the silicone is much easier to Degas than the resin. also the resin absolutely requires over 29"hg to degas, anything less & there is no hope, it'll just stay a big ball of foam until it eventually cures...
 
Just a shot in the dark, but do you think that vibrating the chamber would help? I'm just trying to think of a way to mitigate the bubbles so you can degas in the squeeze bottles...
My first thought was to place a screen over the container but the resin would probably just foam up through it and accumulate above it.
Another random thought was to line the degassing container with a plastic bag then insert the bag into the squeeze bottles, sort of like how some baby bottles work.
 
I think that would start to get messy with bags, I pretty much got it down pat with the system I came up with, only problem is it consumes a lot of containers as waste, but it's working good. it def needs a large container to really expand but now that I'm pouring with funnels for the transfer I'm not having any air bubbles reintroduced problems anymore.

the first set that I thought would be bad because of the bubbles really wasn't even so bad, you don't even really see a few tiny bubbles unless you go looking for them & overall they still look clear & great, but I winded up breaking one of them anyway by dropping it. it shatters like glass & looks like broken glass too. there very hard to trim & deflash because there brittle like glass too, especially when there cold. I got a few chips in the first set too, gotta trim them really carefully.

since then I did 2 more sets & they both came out great with almost no bubbles, just about perfect. this stuff takes up to 7 days to fully cure so handling them beforehand is a little tricky, but I mounted my first set tonight & hopefully the second set tommorow. I blew a gasket on the chamber & have to redo it to cast another set, but overall this mold injection thing is working out fine.

these reflectors are very tricky to install. when the reflector heats up to 90-100 deg F or warmer it gets pliable & a little soft. first they need to be warmed up, installed & secured in place & lined up & formed exactly into shape & into place, then they need a bead of very thick & slow CA glue at the seems from behind & they need to be locked in place with an accelerator spray. then they are installed & sealed in place the same way the tailights are factory sealed & locked togeather, chemically bonded. nothing is visable from the front but this can't be done with thin watery CA like crazy glue or something, that might seep out to the front & then be visable & ruin it. after there locked in place I place the bezel directly in front of a heater on high & bake them at ~125 deg. F for a few hours, then there set & done. I could see guys messing this up, takes a little patience & the right CA glue & accelerator, I'd have to put up decent instructions for install if I sold any sets of these uninstalled.

they really look perfect now, hardly need any polishing at all really but I buffed it a little before removing from the mold anyway, then polish it with a microfiber & then there so glossy, clear & perfect that they look wet. really really nice, smooth, shiney & crystal clear as glass. now I think i'm def happy with them. a few shots...


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