Carbon Fiber
Body Design
An entirely new body was designed and build in the 5 months leading up to the competition. Students in NFA's Engineering class designed the body, built and shaped the mold, and applied a composite of carbon fiber to the mold. To see the entire process from beginning to end, click the link below!
Body Design - Sketching
Students first had to come up with a design that everyone on the team agreed upon. Students who are members of the CVRT along with NFA's Engineering and Design and Drawing for Production (DDP) all particiapted in sketching potential designs for this vehicle. The top 4 designs were voted on in an open poll.
Technical Drawings
Once the best design was chosen, students in NFA's Engineering class then had to come up with overall measurements and the shape of the chassis. These drawings were used to build both the chassis and the mold for the body.
Mold Building
Part 1
After the drawings were completed and the chassis was constructed, CVRT members along with NFA's Engineering students began construction of the body mold. This process was documented in the following YouTube videos.
Mold Building
Part 2
Once all panels were cut to size, students then had to glue to panels to size. They used spray foam to permanently bond the layers together to make a solid block. From this block the molds will be sculpted.
Mold Shaping
Part 1
Once the mold was made, students then used sanding templates and a variety of power tools to shape the mold. At first, students needed to get familiar with the tools and technique for using these tools were learned.
Mold Shaping
Part 2
After students became comfortable using the power tools the work really began! Watch how the molds quickly take shape.
Mold Shaping
Part 3
Students sand the molds using a random orbital sander to smooth out the foam.
Mold Shaping
Part 4
The final piece that was built and shaped was the trunk lid. Watch how we used expanding foam to attach foam layers together in a mater of minutes!
Wrapping Molds
Once the shaping of the molds were completed, all molds had to be wrapped in plastic to prevent the composite from becoming adhered to the mold.
Cutting Composite Materials
After all of the molds are completed, the composite materials need to be cut to size. This is done right before the final step to ensure that the entire mold will be covered.
Epoxy Layup
The final step of the mold making process is adding the epoxy to the composite materials. Once all layers have epoxy applied to them, all molds are enclosed in a vacuum bag to ensure consistent lamination between all layers