V
ACMOBILE
®
B
ETTER
V
ACUUM SYSTEMS FOR
B
ETTER
C
OMPOSITES
Issue #11, 2009
Pachoud Yachts infuse 54 foot monohull
Tauranga-NZ based Pachoud Yachts is a progressive
boat suppliers building company specializing in the construction of epoxy composite motor yachts 15 - 50 metres in length. The yard has several projects currently underway and one of these is the construction of a 54 foot Open 60 style monohull ( click here.
Continued page 4... see http://www.imoca.org ). Pachoud made contact with Vacmobiles.com Ltd in March 2009 wanting to upgrade their vacuum equipment for the upcoming infusion for both the mold and hull for this project. The Vacmobile team supplied a 20/2 infusion system and RT 19
marine resin trap on loan for initial test infusions on the yacht’s splash
marine cradle components which took place in April. Brendan from Vacmobiles travelled to site to provide a short training course on using the equipment and the vacuum fundamentals of the infusion process. The Pachoud team were in particular appreciative of tips regarding moisture removal from the laminate, conducting drop tests both above and below the water vapour pressure point and
plumbing for boat which allowed pre-evacuation of the lay up using both vacuum and resin supply delivery lines. Observations from these first small infusions were recorded so that fine tuning adjustments could be made for the larger infusions to come. Further lending expertise and materials to the project were High Modulus (NZ) Ltd, who supplied a B
3 SmartPac balsa and foam core kit, consumables and engineering. Adhesive Technologies Ltd selected and supplied the
epoxy resin for boats system. To watch a video explaining the B³ SmartPac system LowLowLowLow----cost valves improve infusioncost valves improve infusioncost valves improve infusioncost valves improve infusion While reasonable control over vacuum and resin flows can be accomplished with tub-
ing clamps, the availability of low cost, vac-
uum tight plastic valves allows easier and more complete control of the vacuum infu-
sion process. Used effectively, the valves can reduce resin usage and consumable costs. The use of valves on both resin feed and perimeter vacuum lines allows better and more uniform evacuation of the part. This results in more uniform wet-out and fewer voids. With reference to the illustration you will see valves in both the resin feed and vac-
uum lines. (Note that a more detailed illus-
tration is available as an emailable poster – please see page 5.) The valves enable the additional vacuum line shown running from the resin trap on the Vacmobile to a ‘T‘ placed on the resin feed line. They can also control the feeding of resin from the bottom of the resin supply bucket. Note that while the resin feed bucket is shown above the part in the illustration, the bucket will normally be placed below the part to avoid inflating the
bag for boats and creating a resin rich area in the inlet region of the bag. However, if valved as shown, it is possible to place the resin feed above the part and this may be beneficial in some cases. Let’s now look at each application for the valves.
Vacman’s technical tips
Continued page 4... Infusion schematic Hull mold infusion preparation Splash cradle