Vaccuum m Bagg B gingg Insttrucction ns for Foa am Wings

78 Lindberg gh Ave Livermore, CA 94551 P. 925-433-5900 F.925-443-5 5901 www.acpsalles.com  

Table of Contents Vacuum Bagging Instructions

Sheeting Wings with Balsa or Obeechi………………..……..Page 1 Sheeting Foam Wings with Composite Materials……….......Page 5 Vacuum Pump Set-up’s

EZ-Vac and Auto-Vac Vacuuming Bagging Systems…....….Page 11 Adjusting the Vacuum Switch………………………….....….Page 12

Vacuum Bagging B Instrucctions: Sheetin ng Wings with Balsa or Obeeechi

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Vacuu V um Bagg B ging Insttructtionss for Sheetting Wings with w Ba alsa or Obee echi ou need to start: What yo       

Set S of foam cores, lighttly sanded, with beds EZ-VAC E Kit or AUTO-V VAC Kit EZ-LAM E epo oxy resin Peel P ply, vin nyl gloves, squeegee, s mixing cupss, epoxy brrushes Sheeting S ma aterial Balsa B strip fo or sub lead ding edge Optional O item ms: carbon fiber laminates (.007”” or .014” th hick); 2oz. o or 3oz. fiberglass; .5 5oz carbon tissue. Th he EZ-VAC K Kit includes:       

EZ-VAC C Pump (presset to deliver 6 6” HG) 9' of 18 " wide nylon bagging tub be prene hose 2' neop 20" Quiick Lock sealss EZ-VAC C bag connecctor 9' of 15 " wide breath her cloth ng “T” Fittin

Th he AUTO-VA AC kit include es:             ACP Comp posites, Inc. 20 011

AUTO-V VAC electric p pump, rated up to 20" Hg g Vacuum m switch adju ustable from 3" - 20" Hg Vacuum m gauge Large ccapacity reservoir Check vvalve 3ft neoprene tubing g EZ-VAC C connector 1/4" Ho ose clamp 9ft bag g tube Quick-LLock seals 9ft brea ather cloth “T” fittin ng

Vacuum Bagging B Instrucctions: Sheetin ng Wings with Balsa or Obeeechi

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Procedu ure 1. Cut foam f cores 2. Bond d 1/8” thick balsa to the leading edges e of the e foam core e to preventt crushing o of the core c when vacuum v is applied. a If desired, d beffore installin ng the balsa, bond a .007” thick k carbon fibe er laminate e to the back side of th he balsa. Th hen bond th his assemble to the fo oam. Install any ribs, joiner tubes s; mounting g blocks, en nd caps, carbon fiber reinfo orced spars s, etc. onto the wing. (See ( Figure e I)

3. Fill all a dings, de ents and dis scontinuities s in the corre surfaces with light w weight spacckle, such h as Dap Fa ast and Fina al or Red Devil D One Tiime. 4. Afterr the spacklle has dried d, use 220 grit g sandpa aper, bonde ed to a block, to fair the e wing surfaces completely c smooth. s Va acuum the ccore clean. 5. Prep pare the balsa or obeechi planks by trimming g the edgess with a fressh razor bla ade and a straight edge. e Match h up pulling the join tig ght as you g go. 6. Turn the sheets s over and glue g them together witth thin CA. Note: use tthe thin CA A very sparingly. Try T to preve ent the glue e from soakking through to the oth her side as it b difficult to o sand late er. will be 7. Mark k the glued side of the sheet as a reminder tthat it is the e side that w will be bond ded to the e foam. 8. Trim the sheets s approxima ately ½” lon nger and ¾”” wider than n the core. 9. Prep g them with pare the traiiling edges,, top and bo ottom skin, by beveling h a sanding g block k so they fitt together. Tape T the to op of the bo ottom sheett together a along the tra ailing edge e with mask king tape. Leave L a 1/8””-1/4” gab b between the em. Use a straight edg ge to ke eep the edg ges parallel while apply ying the tap pe. (See Fig gure II)

ACP Comp posites, Inc. 20 011

Vacuum Bagging B Instrucctions: Sheetin ng Wings with Balsa or Obeeechi

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10. Cut bagging b tub be approxim mately 18” longer than the core. 11. Cut breather b clo oth 12” long ger than the e core. 12. Cut the t peel ply y approxima ately 2” long ger and wid der than the e core. 13. Slide e two 1” x 2” wood plan nks, or som mething sim milar, into ea ach side of the bag to hold the bag b open, allowing a eas sier insertio on of the wing into the bag. 14. Insta all EZ-VAC connector by cutting an a approxim mate 3/8” ho ole in the b bag on the uppe er surface, 4” 4 from the end and 9”” from the sside of the b bag. Note: The EZ-VA AC conn nector can be b installed anywhere in the bag,, as long ass the bottom m surface come es in contac ct with the breather clo oth. Disasssemble the EZ-VAC co onnector. S Slip the barbed b end of the conn nector with the black w washer thro ough the ho ole from inside the bag. b Place white w washer, with gro ooves down n, over conn nector and then thread d nut on to o connectorr with flat su urface facin ng down. Se ecure the n nut with a w wrench while e holdiing connecttor nipple. 15. Asse emble the vacuum v pump system (see last p page for EZ Z-VAC Asse embly instru uctions.) 16. Put on o vinyl glov ves. Mix EZ Z-LAM resin according g to the mixx ratio. Usually 3oz tottal mixe ed resin is sufficient s forr most wing gs. 17. Posittion the she eeting on ne ewspaper with w the bevveled side u up. Pour the EZ-LAM on the sheeting s to form then lines up and d down the sheet. Use e an old cre edit card or sque eegee to spread the ep poxy around d, covering g the entire sheet. Afte er the entire e shee et is wet, su ue the sprea ader to scra ape off the e excess epo oxy until a sslight sheen n is left on o the surfa ace. If the sheet looks wet, there iis too much h epoxy on the surface e. 18. If add ditional rein nforcement of the trailing edge is require, strrips of 2oz. or 3 oz. fiberg glass cloth and .5oz tissue can be b added. C Cut two piecces of glasss cloth and one piece e of carbon mat, about three inch hes wide, fo or a 10”-12”” cord wing. Lay down the fiberg glass strips s on the inner side of both b the top p and bottom m sheeting along the trailin ng edge. Ap pply extra EZ-LAM E res sin to the clloth to thoro oughly imprregnate the e glass s with epox xy. Apply the e .5oz carb bon tissue sstrip over th he fiberglass cloth on tthe trailin ng edge of the upper sheeting s on nly. Work EZ Z-LAM resiin carefully into the tissue. 19. Place e foam wing on bottom m sheeting. Position it approxima ately ½” from m the trailin ng edge e hinge. Folld upper sheet over co ore, sandwi ching the ccore betwee en the two epox xy covered sheets. Sec cure with ta ape at vario ous points a along the le eading edge e. (See e Figure III)

ACP Comp posites, Inc. 20 011

Vacuum Bagging B Instrucctions: Sheetin ng Wings with Balsa or Obeeechi

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Place e pre-cut brreather clotth on work bench surfa ace. Positio on peel ply on top of breatther. The peel ply will prevent the e breather ccloth form b bonding to the sheetin ng or to the e leading edge should d any resin ooze out. O Once the re esin has curred, the pee el ply can c be easilly removed. 20. Slide e entire ass sembly (bre eather, peel ply and w ing) into the e bag. Posiition the asse embly so tha at the EZ-V VAC Connector is restiing on the e excess brea ather cloth and not on o the wing. Remove wood w plank ks from bag and checkk that the asssembly ha as not shifted. s 21. Seal both ends of bag with h Quick Loc ck seals. Th hese seals are used byy simply layying b over the e white rod and then clipping c the red portion n over the w white rod the bag sealing the bag in between n. Make surre that the b breather clo oth or peel ply is not caug ght in the Quick Lock seal s when itt is closed. The Quick Lock sealss can be remo oved after the vacuum process ha as been co ompleted an nd can be u used again. 22. Set the t core bag assembly y on its foam m bed and make sure the wing iss flat and true. Cut top t foam be ed to make allowance for EZ-VAC C connecto or and hose e. Weight lig ghtly as re equired. Hook up vacu uum hose to o connectorr and applyy vacuum. (see Figure IV) Note e: The EZ-V VAC system m is pre-set to deliver 6 6” HG and w will not crusst the foam core. When usin ng the AUT TO-VAC pump, the vaccuum can b be adjusted d with the bleed der valve (6 6-8” HG forr white foam m, 15-18” HG for blue ffoam)

23. Allow w the EZ-LA AM to cure vacuum, us sually 24 ho ours at 75-8 80 degreess F. If room temp perature is below b 75ºF F, cure cycle e will be ext xtended. 24. Afterr resin has cured, c remo ove wing frrom bag. Sa and excesss sheeting fflush with su ub leadiing edge. Bond B on fina al leading edge. e 25. If the e trailing edge was rein nforced with h glass and d carbon ma at, it can no ow be sand ded to forrm a thin sm mooth taper. Use the carbon c matt as a guide e to gauge yyour progre ess, sand ding until a thin t black liine can be seen from either side of the wing g. 26. The wing w can be finished suing s .58oz z fiberglass cloth, EZ-L LAM resin a and paint. S See detaiiled glassin ng instructio ons supplied d with EZ-L LAM resin o or fiberglasss. Sheeting g can also be covered d with any of o the heat shrink s plasttic films ava ailable.

ACP Comp posites, Inc. 20 011

Vacuum Bagging Systems Setups

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Vacuum Pump Set-up’s for EZ-Vac and Auto Vacuuming Bagging Systems The EZ-Vac System An ideal start kit for vacuum bagging sheeted or glassed white foam structures. The EZ-VAC pump is pre-set to deliver 6” HG and will not crush the foam core. Connect neoprene hoses as shown in Figure A. Note: The EZ-VAC pump must run continuously until the EZ-LAM resin is cured.

The Auto-Vac System The Auto-Vac System is fully automatic vacuum bagging systems that is completely self-monitoring, thereby eliminating the need for the pump to run continuously. It has a fully adjustable vacuum switch and a large capacity reservoir which prevents frequent cycling of the vacuum pump. It comes completely assembled, mounted on a wood base and ready to use. The Auto-Vac System is supplied with the vacuum switch set to shit the pump off at 8” Hg and to start the pump when the vacuum drops to 5” Hg. The 5-*” setting is ACP Composites, Inc. 2013

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recommending for bagging low density white foam wings, 12”-14” Hg for gray and pink foam and when bagging higher density foam such as blue foam or Spyder Foam 15-“8” is recommended. High vacuum, up to 26” Hg can be used when bagging solid laminate into a mold. Adjusting the Vacuum Switch Vacuum Switch Instructions: Do not use near organic solvent cleaners (Acetone, Freon 22) and commercial products such as Loctite & Eastman 910. The thread in the switch is 1/827SAE-Short Series and is fully compatible with 1/8-27 NPT fittings. Do not tighten fitting more than one turn beyond finger tight.

The switch can be adjusted to 15-18” Hg setting as follows:   



Unplug the pump and clip off hose from the reservoir outlet. Turn the vacuum switch set screw counterclockwise two full turns. Plug the pump in and check the reading on the vacuum gauge when the pump shuts off. If the reading is not at 18”Hg, unplug the pump; dump the vacuum to 0” Hg by release the clamp on the reservoir outlet hose and adjust the switch accordingly, Continue this procedure until the pump shits off at 18” Hg. TO verify that the pump will turn on at 15”Hg, wait approximately five minutes after the pump has shut off at 18” Hg before slowing dumping the vacuum. The pump should shut of at 15” Hg. The reason for waiting the five minutes before dumping the vacuum (simulating a leak in the bag) is to allow the vacuum (18”Hg) to dissipate from the top of the pump diaphragm. If any attempt is made to start the pump before the vacuum has dissipated across the diaphragm, the motor will stall and the pump will not start at the correct set-point.

Note: The vacuum switch is rated for 5 Amps maximum. For pumps larger than 1/16hp, a relay at 10 Amp (V-05C) should be used All diaphragm type vacuum pumps are designed to leak past the diaphragm. On the AUTO-Vac system, the check valve prevents the vacuum in the reservoir from leaking past the diaphragm. The reason for the built-in leak is to equalize the vacuum and atmospheric pressure on either side of the diaphragm. If the pressure is not allowed to equalize, the motor will be unable to start the pump, since the vacuum on one side of the diaphragm will stop the motor from turning. In normal operation, it will take at least thirty minutes for the vacuum in the reservoir to drop to 15” Hg. In that time period, the ACP Composites, Inc. 2013

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pump diaphragm has had sufficient time to equalize and the pump will start immediately when the vacuum switch senses that the vacuum has dropped to 15” Hg. for system with diaphragm type pumps.

ACP Composites, Inc. 2013