Where do you guys get your Metal/CF Stock?
 

Just wondering where to get CF Plates/Aluminum Plates and Angle peices.

Thanks

http://www.graphiteelegance.com Haven't ordered from there yet, but if I ever get CF, it'll be from them.

I order my aluminum plates from Speedy Metals on Ebay. You can also order aluminum online from http://www.onlinemetals.com or http://www.mcmaster.com (Online Metals is less expensive, McMaster-Carr is more expensive).

Metal Xpress, Speedy Metals are some for metal..... The c/f i have not purchased before....

I got my cf from graphiteelegance. (it's not for decoration, it's pure functional, and functional it is!)

Aluminum is something i got my local sources for, but mcmaster has got a nice collection.

I get my metals from onlinemetals.com. Have not had a need to get CF (yet).

Mcmaster does have a nice collection, although, I would think if you did some research, you can just as good for a better price.

After taking a look, mcmaster isn't expensive per se, its just that their smallest size is 4 feet long for some angled 6061...

onlinemetals is like 6 bucks a foot, which actually ends up being more expensive.

Thanks guys.

Have you check Speedy Metals on eBay? Their 1/8" thick x 6" x 48" aluminum sheets are dirt cheap!

I might not even need any stock at all.

This is all for the CRT .5 I'm thinking of how I'm going to set it up. Just doing my research so when the project starts there will be less time between start and finish :)

Did you order it yet? (the CRT)

No...

Anyone know if Carbon Fiber conducts electricity?

no it doesnt

Sorta. I just measured the top CF part that went on the Hyper8 buggy with a meter and the resin part has more resistance than the meter can measure (over 10M ohms). But if I measure from edge to edge (where the actual carbon fiber layers are), I get a reading as low as 9 ohms depending on the meter lead positioning.

WOW thats wierd, i thought i read somewhere it wasnt... wierd lol

Well, like I said; the resin part doesn't. But it makes sense that the actual CF does since it's made out of carbon fibers and typical resistors are made out of carbon. Truthfully, I wasn't sure either - that's why I had to go measure it. :)

It does conduct electricity somewhat. If you are using a Dremel, you have to be careful to not get the CF dust into the area where the commutator and brushes are. Otherwise, arcing can occur.

I was wondering since I was thinking of using CF laminate as insulation. I guess I'll just use foam.

Anyone know where I can get foam pads like the Gorilla ones, but ones that haven't been cut?

I don't know what Gorilla uses, but simple craft foam works well. You can get 8.5" x 11" (I think that's the right size) sheets at Wal-Mart in the craft section, and some even have a sticky back. The stuff I use is around 1/8" thick.

Perfect. Thanks Brian. (PS. I'm stealing your idea on the battery holders in your Hyper 8 too ;) )

That's ok. The idea of a flat piece of metal with "tabs" to hold the batteries in place isn't exactly rocket science, so there won't be any patent infringements. ;)

Ncabz would have tried to squeeze a buck out of it.. (50 at least.. Per tray)

lol. Personally, members should not be trying to make profit from other members here. It would be like trying to rip off family. :) I have had numerous requests to make trays like in my hyper8 for people, but have declined since it simply takes too long with my limited tools to make them while being fair price-wise.

Amen Brian! well put.

We are here to help each other out.

Keeping 'secrets' from others is a result of jealousy IMO.

Carbon fibers conduct, the resin does not.

it's the carbon that is conductive indeed.

Same issue comes up with graphite chassis'. Since its "plastic" most think it's not conductive, ....but it is! That factored into the change of materials on the newer LOSI's.

I've actually had the carbon chassis discharge some of the cells in my packs (side by side style) when I left them in before... and it can put enough drain on the cells to affect performance. That's why we use tape along the sides of the battery compartment to insulate the the battery from the chassis.

That's a smart thing to do. I've done the same thing in the past.

brushes in a brushed motor are also known as "carbons" so that must mean something.

Well, if you want to use something that is not conductive, but is still light, you can use plexiglass (might shatter under hard impacts), or a custom fiberglass tray...

Why not lexan? It won't shatter like plexi and isn't hard to do...

Sounds good I guess. I haven't tried lexan because the local places carry plexi not lexan. I agree though, those plastics are relatively easy to work with. I want to try something using fiberglass sometime. It's messy to use and a lot of sanding work to make it look nice, but you can do some interesting shapes and keep it lightweight...

Lexan is a nice material to use. It's pretty cheap, cuts like butta', and where flex is a good thing, is plenty flexible.

I've worked with fiberglass and Garolite G-10 (another material in the "family" of plastics), and the dust particles of both are not good to breathe in. For this reason alone, I plan on not using and material in the fiber composites category, including CF (not to mention, these materials are very rough on cutting/drilling equipment).

I agree with the dust particals. CF is nasty to inhale and G10 (Garolite) or fiberglass are not much better.

I can not seem to find economical lexan. Where do you source yours? McMaster is not cheap for Lexan.

And BTW for cutting CF and certain harder composites in the "Fiberglass" family it is best to use carbide tooling and cobalt drills. For some tasks "Cut-off" wheels can also work well.

I've also used "diamond coated" abrasive bits such as might be used for cutting ceramic tile.

If i work with CF, i wear mouth-protection...

high speed rotation tools work the best for these hard things. If i saw them with my electric jigsaw, it takes about 5" before the hardened teeth are melted down..

.....you'll have to buy the diamond grit coated jig saw blades for your next CF adventure!

Yeah, i tried looking for them but i can't find them ANYwhere here in Holland!!!

Do you know a source?

A simple cut off wheel in a dremel is what I have found to work best on CF. FOr drilling I use bits intended for ceramic tile. They still dull after some use, but no where near as quickly as conventional hard steel drills.

I actually prefer working with CF over aluminum when possible. I wear a dust mask while working with it, but for working in my house, All I need is a dremel with a cut off wheel and I can pretty much cut any shap I want from it. Working wioth aluminum is much more difficult for us folks that dont have a real workshop at home.

For thin 1/16" aluminum, a nibbling tool works well to get the rough shape and then use a sanding wheel on the dremel. Takes longer than CF but is do-able.