Motorsport Composite Fundamentals: Introduction
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Introduction
03.04
| 00:00 | I'm Connor from High Performance Academy and I'd like to welcome you to our Fundamentals Composites course. |
| 00:05 | Composite materials are a staple in motorsport and can make all the difference if you want to see the podium on race day or take your build to the next level. |
| 00:14 | It doesn't matter if it's a dedicated race car, an off-road basher or a weekend cruiser. |
| 00:19 | Being able to design and create your own composite parts will not only save you the eye -watering cost of paying someone else to do it for you but also give you the flexibility to create something truly unique and perfectly tailored to your application. |
| 00:34 | This could be body panels, aero elements, intake plumbing and interior parts like dashboards and door cards, even mechanical components like suspension arms. |
| 00:44 | Compared to factory alternatives that typically consist of steel, aluminium or plastic, composites key advantage is that they offer a great strength and stiffness to weight ratio. |
| 00:55 | But the pros don't end there, they can also have great resistance to corrosion, heat and fatigue, all very important attributes in motorsport. |
| 01:04 | Factory fitted components generally involve compromises in these areas, usually in the interest of cost for mass production. |
| 01:11 | This doesn't mean that creating your own composite parts needs to be expensive though. |
| 01:16 | There are plenty of affordable options for materials and the main driver behind the expense of composite parts is the manufacturing process, which after this course you'll be able to cover yourself. |
| 01:27 | Throughout the course we'll cover a range of theory and practical skills to give you the ability to make your own composite parts. |
| 01:35 | To get things started we'll be discussing the fundamentals of composites used in automotive applications, including fiberglass, carbon fiber, kevlar and others. |
| 01:45 | Next we'll discuss all the different raw materials used in their construction so you have a full understanding of everything involved and that's available. |
| 01:53 | We'll also cover all the tools we can use when working with composites, as well as the protective equipment needed to stay safe and how to set up our workspace for efficiency and the best finished product. |
| 02:05 | Then it's into the practical skills where you'll learn how to make patterns and molds and of course the composite parts themselves. |
| 02:12 | To make things clear right from the start, this is a fundamentals course and while we will discuss some of the more advanced topics to ensure that you're at least familiar with them, when it comes to the practical skills we're limiting our scope to wet layout aka hand lamination techniques and open cures. |
| 02:29 | Vacuum bagging, resin infusion and the use of pre-preg materials will be covered in a following more advanced course. |
| 02:36 | Finally we bring it all together into an easy to follow three-step process that you can apply to any composites project to ensure you get great results without overlooking anything critical. |
| 02:47 | Well-made composite parts are key to a top-tier build but completely accessible even at an enthusiast level. |
| 02:53 | They can increase outright performance while standing the test of time and when things do go wrong, they're also easier to repair. |
