just like the title of the thread....what are some alternatives to fiberglass? i want to make somethign thats kinda "advanced" and i want to makeit out of somethign light weight like fiberglass but i dont really want to use it lol....anyone know of anything else?

 

Depends on how deep your wallet is. The common alternative is carbon fiber but that also gets very expensive.

Aluminum is the other choice but is limited to what you want to do. For example I'd love to have a lightweight aluminum lift off hood instead of my fiberglass one. If I was willing to spend the money, I could easily have someone make one for me.

 

well i'm planning on making a pretty intricate cup holder lol....its probably gonna be a lot of work for just something so small....but i cant think of any alternatives to fiberglass....my dad thinks steel but i think thatmight be a bitheavy for me lol

 

You could make one out of aluminum easily... if you have access to a mill. Fiberglass really isn't that bad if you wear gloves. It's not like fiberglass insulation.

 

unfortunately i dont have any sort of access to a mill at all....and i have worked with fiberglass before, but in order to really do anything with it, dont you really need something to mold it around? like something to have some sort of structure to wrap the glass aroudn?

 

heres what i'm planning....i hope these drawings arent too confusing....i understood them fine but my dad was confused outta his skull lol





there ya go

 

Again, cost is a factor. How about injected molded plastic? Sometimes a one of a kind item is very expensive because of what it takes to create a one of a kind item.

A mill or CNC machine would be perfect.

 

i would really like to do some sort of injection molded plastic but i dont think i'll be able to figure out some way to do that lol...and yeah, i dont have a cnc or mill which really sucks lol,iwish i did lol....again my dad thinks steel andiknow i dont need to make it look like this but i'd like it to look nice like this but i can always make a ghetto one lol

 

Hmm, that would be too intricate to make a pourable mold for fiberglass, unless you made it in parts, which I wouldn't want to do. I still think fiberglass would be your best bet. You could make 10 of these things for under 5 bucks with that. Make the actual cup holder out of PVC tubing, then the rest out of plastic, cardboard, wood, ect and fiberglass over all of that to smooth it out.

However, steel is an option - Sheet metal would be more than strong enough if you used physics to your advantage (Dont forget your triangles for strength). It would polish up really nicely too, or you could powdercoat it. Or again... surround it in fiberglass.

 

I'm not seeing a cup holder in those drawings.

 

It's a dual cup holder. If it had a top view, you would see it better. The center support looks big and bulky. Something made from aluminum tubing would look more stylish and modern. Then you would just need to find someone who is good at TIG welding.

 

lexan? bendable, sand it and it's paintable, epoxy or plastic weld it together? I think aluminum is your best bet, if you can cut the parts and know someone good with a tig you can make some really nice and light parts.

 

well my dad's gonna get me some sheet metal from his job, and i'm going to make the center 90 degree thing for it, then i'll get some more and make the cup holders, andyeah i do need a top and a 3D rendering of it...ihavent had time to draw it up but yeah, im thinking ifi just make the basicthing otuta sheet metal, then brush some epoxy (w/ no cloth) over it and then cut it into two halves i can take it off,then strengthen the inside a little with some more epoxy or fiberglass (no cloth again) and put the two halves together, wrap them with cloth and glass them....i know that sounds totally ridiculous, but thats the only way i cna think of making one really without making a pourable mold....i want it to be light weight yet sturdy

 

Carbon fiber is nice, but it's more difficult to work with than fiberglass. Also, unless you are able to vacuum form it, there is virtually no weight savings because of the amount of resin you have to use.

 

ya know, pvc could be used for the cup holders too, and attached to the mount. in fact, i'm getting an idea for an all-pvc cup holder setup. hmm... i need to go do some drawings

 

i've saw ppl use disposible plastic cups for a mold.......what would really be cool is one molded from your favorite drink contianer.......perfect fit so you dont spill in those tight turns.......

 

now that is sweet.

 

Make it out of wood, and then cast it in plastic. Look up a product called alumilite.

Mathius

 

how would i go about casting it in plastic?

 

Well, you make a rubber mold, mix up the plastic solution, pour it in, let it harden, remove the mold.

It's more complicated than that, but like I said. Look for a product called alumilite. That will point you in the direction of specifics. I think they even have a forum.

You can also find a lot of stuff on nostalgia web sites, gi joe, heman, etc. where people are casting their own figures. The same concept would apply.

Here, since you won't do what I said and look up alumilite, I'll do some of the work for you:

This one is about latex masks and molds. You don't want to use latex, but it does have information about molds that is relevant: http://www.toymania.com/customcorner/moldp1.shtml

More on mold making: http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...d.php?t=144205

More: http://www.hirstarts.com/moldmake/moldmaking.html

Information on vaccum molding here: http://www.studiocreations.com/howto/index.html

You would have saved me some effort if you'd have just gone here in the first place: http://www.alumilite.com/

Mathius