The BVM Carbon Fiber Accessories
Hatch Latch
· Side Mount Servo Tray · Flush Wing Servo Mount
Wing Plug-In
Brackets · Molded 90° L Brackets
· Angle Braces
Offset Door Hinge
· Canopy Hooks · Hatch Pin Sets
Control Horns
· Tuned Pipe Mount
THE DESIGN PROCESS
It all starts with recognizing a need for a product that makes our modeling chores easier and our models stronger, lighter and more functional.
Incorporating Carbon Fiber into molded plastic parts yields very strong, wear resistant and light weight parts. It also allows us to streamline the bulk of the part and still get plenty of strength. So, when jets arrived on the hobby scene and there was a need for some new accessories, it just seemed natural to include this great material into our design process.
THE
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Hot Injection Molding
Once the design is complete and a machine or hand made prototype part has been tested satisfactorily, the negative impression of that part must be formed into a block of steel. There are multiple methods of accomplishing this that include CNC machining, manual machining and E.D.M. (Electronic Discharge Machining). Provisions for the hot molten plastic to enter the mold, be cooled quickly and then automatically ejected also have to be considered in the design and manufacture of the mold.
These blocks of steel that contain the part cavities called "inserts" are then mounted either singularly or in multiples into much larger blocks of steel (mold bases) that facilitate the plastic injection runners, water cooling and mechanical ejection of the parts.
Injection molding machines are big, powerful hydraulic affairs that heat the plastic pellets that contain the chopped Carbon Fiber to about 500° F and then force it into the mold cavities at 1000 pounds of pressure. Water running through the mold quickly cools the parts to the solid state and then the machine opens the mold and ejects the finished product. The whole cycle usually takes less than a minute.
The initial investment in the mold is of course significant but the process yields thousands of parts that are identical in size, shape and strength, and, a well built mold will last a very long time.