In this video Fibre Glast shows three different spray guns. These guns are meant to be used to spray gel coat or other liquids like PVA, resin, or varnish. These spray guns come with larger spray nozzles (2.0 mm minimum). This allows these spray guns to spray higher viscosity materials better.

#123-A – ¼ Pint (4 oz) Touch-up Spray Gun is a small, portable spray gun that is perfect for on-site repairs or for small areas. #126-A – .6 Liter (20 oz) Touch-up Spray Gun is a great gun for larger surfaces. It can be used for mold construction, large boat repair, or gel coat refinishing. The #120-A Gel Coat Cup Gun is excellent for small or medium size molds. This external mix gun provides a uniform, high velocity spray pattern.

ABOUT FIBRE GLAST SPRAY GUNS

#123-A – 1/4 Pint (4 oz) Touch-up Spray Gun
Efficient, accurate, and portable. This portable touch-up gun offers a highly controlled spray pattern for pinpoint accuracy, reducing wasted gel coat and harmful emissions. Its small size, minimal air consumption, and easy clean-up makes it the perfect choice for on-site repairs. This gun comes fitted with a 2.0mm nozzle, which is ideal for any of our gel coats. But don’t use it just for repairs; it’s also great for spraying PVA! Retail Price: $91.75. On sale in May 2012 for $73.40!

#126-A – .6 Liter (20 oz) Touch Up Spray Gun
Professional Grade. This is a heavy duty gun offering a range of adjustments that will allow the spray pattern to be customized to the specific project. This gun excels at large surface spraying, such as new mold construction, composite refinishing and large boat repair. This gun comes fitted with a 2.5mm nozzle, which is ideal for any of our gel coats. Retail Price: $118.75. On sale in May 2012 for $95.00!

#120-A – Gel Coat Cup Gun
Gel Coat Won’t Catalyze Inside The Gun. An inexpensive gel coat gun for spraying small to medium size molds. Avoids the high cost of catalyst injector systems and at the same time avoids the pitfalls of a regular spray gun. The resin and catalyst are mixed in the disposable paper cups, the lid and nozzle assembly are pressed on, and the cup is then placed on the gun. With the paper cup in a level position, depress the trigger and the air stream picks up the gel coat and provides a uniform, high velocity spray pattern. To clean up, merely remove the cup form the gun, and just clean the lid and nozzle. Retail Price: $167.35. On sale in May 2012 for $133.88!

Magnus Opus Drums is a Fibre Glast customer that makes beautiful, custom snare drums and drum sets. In the photo gallery above, there are drums made of fiberglass, carbon fiber, wood and metal.

Fabricated by Ron Adams at Magnus Opus Drums in Connecticut, the drum set using Stonewall Chromaveil, was a big hit at the CT Drum Show on April 22. Visit the Magnus Opus Drums website to see more cool drums -http://www.magnusopusdrums.com/index.html

“The successful first flight of this Production Prototype Transition® marks a critical move toward initial production and first delivery,” said COO Anna Mracek Dietrich.  The Production Prototype phase of the Transition® program follows Proof of Concept work which included a flying, driving Proof of Concept vehicle and was completed in 2009. The Production Prototype program includes two vehicles and is being used to develop and inform the manufacturing tool-up and compliance program necessary to begin commercial deliveries.    Terrafugia will continue its testing program in preparation for first delivery, which is expected to occur within the next year.
Regarding this first flight, Terrafugia CEO/CTO and co-founder Carl Dietrich said: “The first flight of the Transition® Production Prototype is a major milestone for Terrafugia.   With this flight, the team demonstrated an ability to accomplish what had been called an impossible dream. We look forward to continuing to show that the challenges of bringing a practical street legal airplane to market can be overcome.  This is a very exciting time for Terrafugia.  We are on our way up – literally and figuratively!”
The Transition’s first flight reached an altitude of 1400’ above the ground and lasted eight minutes while staying in the vicinity of Plattsburgh International Airport.  It demonstrated the controllability and safe operational characteristics of the aircraft.  Six phases of flight testing are planned to continue development and demonstrate compliance to the Light Sport Aircraft standards.
Speaking about the first flight, Terrafugia Chief Test Pilot Phil Meteer said: “It’s a remarkable vehicle both on the road and, now, in the air.  When I drove it into the shop, literally from the road through the garage door, I was amazed that I had just flown it at Plattsburgh a few days before.  A long-overdue mode of transportation and fun is just around the corner.  I can’t wait for the upcoming flight tests and the chance to ‘wring it out’, demonstrating how safe and enjoyable the Transition® is to fly.”
The Transition® Production Prototype is on display at the New York International Auto Show April 6-15th at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City.
Terrafugia would like to thank Giora Guth, Chief Chase Pilot, as well as the teams at Plattsburgh International Airport, Sheltair Aviation, and Lawrence Municipal Airport, for their support of our ground and flight testing operations.
Terrafugia (terra-FOO-gee-ah), based in Woburn, MA, is a growing aerospace company founded by pilots and engineers from MIT and supported by a world-class network of advisors and private investors.   The company name is Latin for “escape the earth.”  Terrafugia’s mission is to design and deliver revolutionary, practical air and land vehicles that provide freedom, flexibility and fun to their loyal customers.
The Transition® is classified as a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA).

Specifications can be found online at
http://www.terrafugia.com/aircraft.html

Terrafugia is a customer of Fibre Glast

In this video, Fibre Glast is using a gel coat tinting machine to produce perfect gel coat color. Fibre Glast can produce over 900 colors of gel coat using this high caliber machine. This video shows the process of gel coat coloring using liquid pigment and a neutral gel coat base. The result is a high performance gallon of color gel coat made specifically to meet the customers’ color choice.

Fibre Glast’s high quality machine, software, base and pigments are quite simply the best available. The customer receives consistent, high standard, perfectly matched color gel coat every time. With only a handful of these machines installed in the world, Fibre Glast is proud to use this state of the art technology to anyone who wants great color in a premium gel coat. The customer simply chooses their desired color from over 900 options and the automated dispensing machine formulates the precise color in a batch of high quality gel coat.

Fibre Glast uses 188 RAL standard colors and 730 Instint colors for Color Gel Coat

VIEW THE COLOR GEL COAT

Perched 150 feet above the field for years, these tiger statues have taken a beating from the weather. Now, these 10,000 lb. statues have made it home to Connecticut and the company that built them; to be sand-blasted, re-fiberglassed and repainted. The tigers will be back on top of the stadium by the time baseball begins.

From ctpost.com

‘Their eyes have lasers in them,’ said Mensching, ‘each one of their eyes lights up when someone hits a home run and the Tigers have Prince Fielder now who’s a home-run hitter, so hopefully they get used.’

Article from ctpost.com by Ali Reed
Photos by Brian A. Pounds / Connecticut Post and Walter Kidd

Have you used carbon fiber, fiberglass, Kevlar®, resins, gel coat or other composite materials in a project that you are proud of? Now is your chance to share it with thousands of people.

When you upload your pictures, they will be considered for inclusion in our web site, advertisements or even in our product catalog! Please upload large, High Resolution pictures (300 dpi or more) of your project – whether it’s something you created in your garage or at school, a boat that you repaired, or the coolest looking carbon fiber motorcycle ever – we’ll take it. Low resolution pictures will only be considered for our website gallery. This campaign ends March 31, 2012

UPLOAD YOUR PICTURES

If you upload your pictures in March 2012, you will receive a promotion code for $10 Off Your Next Order. After you upload your pictures, a confirmation screen will display your promotion code.

VIEW PAST CUSTOMER PICTURE SUBMISSIONS
Top 50 Customer Pictures of August 2011.
Top 50 Customer Pictures of January 2011.
Every year, we are glad to receive hundreds of pictures from our talented and creative customers. We are proud to display these pictures on our website and in our product catalog. View the:
Top 100 Customer Submissions of Previous Years.

Fibre Glast customer R Miller Autobody was recently interviewed by Elite Streetz for a piece in Auto SPAZ Magazine. The interview was about a 2011 Chevy Cruze that R Miller Autobody modified and featured in the SEMA show in Las Vegas. R Miller Autobody was able to use Fibre Glast’s Wasp Carbon Fiber pattern on the hood, roof and trunk of this car, to create a sleek and flawless design. You can view the the entire Auto SPAZ Magazine online – HERE. The Chevy Cruze article is on pages 54-59.

FROM THE ARTICLE
(Elite Streetz) “I really notice a different pattern in you carbon fiber; was that an idea of yours, or just found something different?”
(R Miller Auto) “We had worked with Fibre Glast Developments with using their custom pattern carbon fiber. We saw the product and instantly said we have to get this on a car. The build fell in line and we were able to use the product.”

Fibre Glast carries a whole line of unique Carbon Fiber Patterns. You can view them on our website www.fibreglast.com

The Italian automotive company Ferrari makes more than just sports cars. They put their badge on everything.  From watches, sunglasses, and gloves to jackets, perfume, and hand towels, Ferrari capitalizes on its luxurious and high-end brand reputation.

This chess set from Ferrari is constructed using carbon fiber covered wood, fiberglass, varnished wood pieces, and is completed with a metal Ferrari shield on the front. The playing board alternates squares in  carbon fiber and fiberglass. If you love this Italian brand but can’t afford a supercar, you can own this set for just $1,534.00.  store.ferrari.com

Building a musical instrument by hand is difficult to say the least. That’s why it’s so impressive that Ken, a novice at the craft, was able to make such a stunning carbon fiber violin on his own. Ken also documented the steps of this carbon fiber creation on www.instructables.com.

Taking him 10 months of Sundays, Ken started by making detailed drawings of the violin. His plans were translated into plaster and fiberglass molds. It took Ken a lot of time to produce the best sounding violin plates. When he started fabricating the carbon fiber violin plates, Ken tested each revision’s “tap tones” until he go the right sound.

Want to learn how to create a violin like this? View Ken’s detailed instructions on Instructables.

Last year i made a carbon fibre violin ,
I started out  by drawing a violin on paper ,  working out the curve heights , plotting the lot on paper ,

Once i had my plans drawn it was time to start making moulds , the violin plate moulds started as block of plaster , that i routed out and fine carved to produce a “plug” , the 1st mould was taken off that  , then fine finishing the top and bottom plate  mould  took about 1 month , and i  still had a lot of fibreglass moulds to make , rib mould , neck mould ,   finger board mould, they all take time. ,
To have a Shop Bot would be a huge help with the mould making  , change the shape slightly on the CAD drawings ,rerun CAM , and watch the Shop Bot produce its magic on HDPE ( only a dream )., using a Shop Bot to draw perf lines , and trim the carbon fibre , i wish i could afford one .

The first plates i made from carbon fibre were way to stiff , “tap tone’s ” told me it was better used as a brass bell than a violin , after producing about 10 violin plates i was getting into the ball park of tone , a combination of different materials  , laid down in different thicknesses in different areas produced a violin front and back plate i was happy with .

I used the infusion method of carbon fibre making , were you lay all your layers up dry and vacuum bag it , once the vacuum is over 25hg (-12psi) you open the tap to the resin , and the vacuum pulls the resin into the carbon fibre fabric , the laying up of the rib mould took me 5 hours each side to get the fabric to sit in the right position , very fiddly ( pardon the pun) .

The gluing jig was made from MDF with 10mm cup heads sticking through , designed to allow side ways positioning of the rib and neck parts , and the holding down clamps for the top and bottom , the centre part  of the jig was removed to glue the top on, with the 4 hour set time of the resin ,its important to keep it all firmly heard in position.

Although composite materials fabrication has been around for decades, few resources exist that detail the “how to” aspect of a good fabrication. Publications that cover the subject of composite materials often dive into the technical and mathematical aspect of the materials and their use. Too often, the typical do-it-yourselfer is alienated and forced to believe that doing a composite material fabrication is too complicated. This simply isn’t true. Granted, fabrication with composite materials does take skill, knowledge, and mechanical ability, but it is a trade that most people can learn.

The ‘Composite Materials Fabrication Handbook’ 1 & 2 by John Wanberg are excellent instructional books that deviate from the overly technical books of the past. They present hands-on, how to information that is easy to absorb and translate into any composite project. Fibre Glast carries both handbooks: Composite Materials Fabrication Handbook #1 and Composite Materials Fabrication Handbook #2.

Composite Materials Fabrication Handbook #1
While most books on composites approach the subject from a very technical standpoint, CompositeMaterials presents practical, hands-on information about these versatile materials. From explanations of what a composite is, to demonstrations on how to actually utilize them in various projects, this book provides a simple, concise perspective on molding and finishing techniques that will empower even the most apprehensive beginner.
First-time composite workers will need a workspace and this book describes how to setup a shop that is both composite-friendly and safe. Once the shop is established, it’s time to begin using typical wet layup and molding techniques.

Creating useful composite parts starts with a good design, a topic that must be mastered before useful parts can be manufactured. The book documents and explains the creation of both motorcycle and automotive components. Any part created in a mold must be first removed from the mold, and second, finished and trimmed. Surface sanding and finishing makes up an entire chapter, ensuring that the composite parts you manufacture are not only light and extremely strong, but good looking as well.

If you’ve ever wondered how to use composites for some of your projects, or which resin/fiber system is best for small projects, look not further than CompositeMaterials, your complete guide to composite construction in a small, or home-based shop.

Composite Materials Fabrication Handbook #1 is 10% Off in December 2011 for $25.15.

Composite Materials Fabrication Handbook #2
Composites Fabrication Handbook #2 is written for those who want to enhance the quality and performance of their composite projects. Learn what it takes to truly optimize a composite lamination for high-performance use.

Basic mold-making is covered in this book to help fabricators produce effective mold systems from a variety of molding materials. Several advanced molding techniques are demonstrated in-depth, including vacuum-bagging, trapped-rubber insert molding, inflatable bladder molding, or resin transfer molding techniques. In the spirit of Composites Fabrication Handbook #1, this book presents each subject in a hands-on, practical way.

Creating useful composite parts requires a good design, a topic that is discussed at length in this new book. The methods illustrated here lend themselves to both motorcycle and automotive builders and customizers. The construction of these parts is documented in step-by-step fashion with an abundance of photographs – no step is left out in this Composite Fabrication book from Wolfgang publications.

Composite Materials Fabrication Handbook #2 is 10% Off in December 2011 for $25.15.