Austin S Lee

HOW TO MAKE (ALMOST) ANYTHING MAS.863.12

COMPOSITES - week10

This week we learned how to assemble a 3D mold, and lay up a fiber composite part in it. According to Kenny from the CBA, the materials we used was the 100% flax linen with the west systems 105, in a quasi-isotropic lay up, and an elastic modulus of ~4GPa.. Apparently, this performance would be similar to plywood. We learned to infuse fabrics with epoxy and cover objects to create light and strong shells. We used vacuum-forming. I decided to use a piece from my collaborative project, called Push-Pop. Gonglue Jiang and I 3D printed the shell earlier. It was a half sphere with holes on it. Covering a sphere with 2 dimensional plain seemed to be an interesting challenge. I found a paper, titled "Wrapping Spheres with Flat Paper" online and learned diverse methods such as k-petal wrappings. I ended up just randomly wrapping up the sphere though. The following pictures show the process of creating the composites structure.

Vacuum-form

After mixing the epoxy and hardener(squeeze 5 times each, 1:1), I poured the mixture on the fabric thoroughly and carefully wrapped the sphere. Then I covered the structure, sealed all 4 sides, and vacuumed out all the air. It usually takes at least an hour before you can unwrap the structure.

Unbagging

The unbagging process is pretty straight forward. Just as Kenny mentioned, it was similar to unwrapping Holiday gifts. Note: when you demold after a couple of hours, the part will still be a bit priable. It will take another day or twoto come to full strength and stiffness.

FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL.
My ideas for the final project- week1

PRESS-FIT CONSTRUCTION KIT.
Learn how to make something using vinyl cutter and laser cutter - week2

FAB ISP (IN-SYSTEM PROGRAMMER)
Learn how to make a custom PCB - week3

3D SCANNING AND PRINTING.
Learn how to make 3D printed model - week4

ELECTRONICS DESIGN.
Learn how to redraw the echo hello-world board - week5

MOLDING AND CASTING.
Learn how to design a 3D mold, machine it, and cast parts from it - week6

EMBEDDED PROGRAMMING.
Learn how to program a custom board to do something - week7

MAKE SOMETHING BIG.
Learn how to make SOMETHING BIG through computer-controlled machining- week8

INPUT DEVICES.
Learn how to add sensor to a microcontroller board and read it - week9

COMPOSITES.
Learn how to assemble a 3D mold, and lay up a fiber composite part in it - week10

OUTPUT DEVICES.
Learn how to add an output device to a microcontroller board and program it to do something - week11

INTERFACE AND APPLICATION PROGRAMMING.
Learn how to write an application that interfaces with an input &/or output device - week12

NETWORKING AND COMMUNICATIONS.
Learn how to build a wired &/or wireless network with at least two nodes - week13

MECHANICAL/MACHINE DESIGN.
Learn how to design or modify a machine and automate the machine - week14

FINAL PROJECT.
My final project for How To Make (almost) Anything - week15, 16

MAS.863
Learn about the How To Make (almost) Anything course at MIT