Carbon Fiber Bodywork

As 1 of the "Lurkers", I was wondering if the other companies making composite Tanks would have a seam? I know you've been in contact with some of them. Anyway to make it 1 piece? Seems that all the Fuel tanks for racing in cars are a 1 piece Injected mold type of construction.

porchev914 wrote:

Why Mark, you look positively young! I see you've got some porncorn and you're ready to rock and roll!

just thought i'd take a page out of plummens book. :laugh:

Motor Head wrote:

As 1 of the "Lurkers", I was wondering if the other companies making composite Tanks would have a seam? I know you've been in contact with some of them. Anyway to make it 1 piece? Seems that all the Fuel tanks for racing in cars are a 1 piece Injected mold type of construction.

You're hardly a lurker. Anything injection molded is not going to be an FRP composite. There are ways to do it in one piece.....take a dissolvable mandrel or form and lay up the tank over that. The problem is that you have to make a new core every time you lay up a part. More supplies, more time and a proportionate increase in cost.

You're right, anything one piece is most likely injection molded. Anything made of metal will be two piece. Most composite stuff will be two piece as well. I do know that FIA (Formula 1) requires a rubber bladder and a crushable structure, specifically:

ARTICLE 6: FUEL SYSTEM
6.1 Fuel tanks:
6.1.1 The fuel tank must be a single rubber bladder conforming to or exceeding the specifications of FIA/FT5-1999, the fitting of foam within the tank however is not mandatory. A list of approved materials may be found in the Appendix to these regulations.
6.3 Crushable structure:
The fuel tank must be completely surrounded by a crushable structure, which is an integral part of the survival cell and must be able to withstand the loads required by the tests in Articles 18.2.1 and 18.3.

This particular F1 fuel tank is of a kevlar construction

"Most, if not all, fuel tanks used in Formula 1 are constructed by ATL (Aero Tech Laboratories). ATL is a specialist company whose expertise lies in flexible composites. Their client list includes industries involved in aerospace, aviation, industrial production, automotive, as well as various branches of the military.

The tanks themselves are really quite unique and are nothing like the tanks in a road car. ATL manufacturers the tanks from a composite construction of Kevlar and rubber that is strong, but flexible. High speed impacts on a race car demand tank flexibility and strength. The integrity of the tank must be maintained even in the worst situations. The term commonly used to describe their durability is “bullet proof,” and the tanks have held up well and have proven to be safe."
Now, I wasn't going to incorporate a bladder, but I am going to incorporate aramid (kevlar) into the tank construction.

I get the feeling motorhead, from all of your posts in my tank thread that you think my carbon tank is a bad idea...... :ohmy: But that can't be right :laugh:

The kevlar tank pic did not go through, but here is a carbon tank of some sort

Well as to a bad idea, I probably am to concerned with the litigation that could result. The actual Idea is a good one. Fuel is such a hazardous thing. It only takes an instant and an ignition source to make a spectacular inferno. Just would like to see everyone safe, mods with improvements over factory, but still safe.
The reason I asked about the seam was the others had been posting questions on the seam, and I was wondering what it might take to go the seamless route. I know you have done lots of homework on this.
So far all of the work you're doing looks fantastic, and I like the way you Post up all of the details of the trails and tribulations as well.
Yea I'm a "Lurker" too as I watch the progress with interest!

I appreciate your concern and I understand your perspective. I don't believe though, that the remote possibility of a worst case scenario should stop me from exploring, experimenting and pushing my ablilities. Like I posted in beginning of the thread when asked about the rupture potential of a composite tank, I have ruptured a steel tank in a crash. All the fuel leaked out and it did not blow up No motorcycle tank is crash proof, and I do not plan to make a weak tank. That said, I have no actual experience making a fuel tank, so I expect to learn alot in the next few weeks :whistle:

OK, lets get back to something productive, shall we? I haven't put much time into the tail, but I have put time in. The Z1 tail I have had some decal stripes. In order to remove the stripes, I used a single edged razor blade and very carefully separated the decals from the tail piece. This is a somewhat delicate manuever, and without any practice it's easy to cut a gouge in the part. I have done my fair share of damage to paint jobs removing plastic decals with razor blades :blush:

Here is the tail without the decals. Some of you might be wondering why I cut off the decals if I'm just going to sand the tail and primer it. Why not just sand the decals off? Well, it has been my experience that anytime you try and sand off something as durable as plastic decals when they are glued to a soft foundation (abs plastic tail), you end up sanding into the host part before you can comepletely remove the decal. This will cause a small wave in the piece that will require some primer filler and blocking to straighten out....more work I really don't need at the moment :S So we are making a little progress on the tail, slowly getting closer to a full carbon fiber bodied Kz1000 (with a Z1 tail)

Now that I have a few minutes and it's not blazing hot outside, I got back to work I finished removing the stripe adhesive with 220 grit, gave it a quick wipe down with a clean rag and a blow gun and gave it a couple coats of primer. Primer is simply sandable dupli-color in a spray can.

How do you like your tail Craig?

porchev914 wrote:

How do you like your tail Craig?

fat black and flat of her back!:woohoo: :ohmy: :laugh:
sorry craig,i am a weak weak man. :evil:

leon

I have been waiting ALL DAY for someone to take the bait!!! :laugh: