"OEM" B8 Vent and MMI trim production

[Matt@oCarbon]

Got a bunch of these in a few days ago and will begin production on them shortly. The goal will be to produce these in a 8 harness satin weave (8HS) so that they are similar to the OEM carbon atlas trim found in the B8 S4.

We're going to be doing these pieces differently than most of our other trim, so the production should be interesting. Most of our pieces are just wet laid by hand, but these will be vacuum assisted layup, possibly with some latex molds.

I'll keep this thread updated as we work our way through production on them over the coming weeks.

[B8bydesign]

Oh man, I can't wait! Best of luck with the new production process. Very interested to see the final result.

We're going to be doing these pieces differently than most of our other trim, so the production should be interesting. Most of our pieces are just wet laid by hand, but these will be vacuum assisted layup, possibly with some latex molds.

Just curious, between the two different processes, what's the difference in the final product?

[ninertriplezero]

cool! I dont have a B8 but I'm looking forward to learning about the process.

[sakimano]

is one of those for right hand drive or something?

[richib86]

is one of those for right hand drive or something?

good eye.

on a random side note. saki your user name always makes me think of seinfeld lol

[voltrons_head]

:-0

[Matt@oCarbon]

Just curious, between the two different processes, what's the difference in the final product?

Wet lay is just using your hands to form the carbon to the part, with a bonding epoxy. With the vacuum, we'll be using a pump and a bag to form it to the part (with a little help from a mold).

The end result won't be too much different, just subtle details. For example, on the MMI piece, you'll notice on previous attempts we weren't able to maintain the ridge along the middle of the piece (you can see it on the left and right, but not so much across the "bridges"). Our hope is that by vacuuming the fabric to the part, the ridge will be consistent throughout the piece.

is one of those for right hand drive or something?

No, Audi goofed on that one.

[cory_can]

hopefully (at least) one isn't done in 8HS

[voltrons_head]

Whoever is getting this is really lucky. ;-p

[sakimano]

what happened to that group buy?

[voltrons_head]

Ur looking at it. ;-)

[Matt@oCarbon]

what happened to that group buy?

You're looking at it.

[Matt@oCarbon]

ur looking at it. ;-)

GET OUT OF MY HEAD

[sakimano]

hahahaha

[vintagespin]

what happened to that group buy?

Ur looking at it. ;-)

You're looking at it.

GET OUT OF MY HEAD

LOL

[B8bydesign]

Wet lay is just using your hands to form the carbon to the part, with a bonding epoxy. With the vacuum, we'll be using a pump and a bag to form it to the part (with a little help from a mold).

The end result won't be too much different, just subtle details. For example, on the MMI piece, you'll notice on previous attempts we weren't able to maintain the ridge along the middle of the piece (you can see it on the left and right, but not so much across the "bridges"). Our hope is that by vacuuming the fabric to the part, the ridge will be consistent throughout the piece.

Very cool, thanks for takin the time to answer that! Can't wait to see the results.

[voltrons_head]

GET OUT OF MY HEAD

Lulz.

[Matt@oCarbon]

A bunch of progress on this (and its being posted on EA first). We got the vacuum rig built and spent the last week or so testing it in different conditions and with a few different epoxies. At first we had some problems with leaks and boost (only 2PSI) but once we got it figured out (stronger bags, tighter seals) its running at 20PSI or so.

One of the big setbacks that I've still got to try and figure it out is how to keep vacuum once I disengage the pump. I'm not sure if it is possible, but it will speed up production to be able to build a few of these, run the pump and get it tight, then remove the pump and move on to the next rig. As it stands now, I'll only be able to make one part at a time and will have to keep it running a day or so while each one cures.

I'm also going to try connecting a few different rigs to the pump at once and see if the pump is strong enough to handle multiple pieces at once.

Either way, some of the legit parts will be finishing up over the next week or so.

Here are some pics of the RHD test pieces we were messing around with:

[beemercer]

Very nice, looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[cory_can]

man, the wait is killing me.....I stare at that crapy plastic piece every time I get in the car

[Matt@oCarbon]

man, the wait is killing me.....I stare at that crapy plastic piece every time I get in the car

Yea, the wait is going to suck, but the bagging is going to exponentially increase the quality of the part, especially given how complex it is compared to the simple door/dash trim pieces.

There will be no fit issues like the hand laid ones.

[voltrons_head]

man, the wait is killing me.....I stare at that crapy plastic piece every time I get in the car

Me too Cory but when its done well be some of he very few people on the planet to have this. Good work Matt. Thanks.

[B8bydesign]

Can't wait to see the finished product, thanks for the update!!

[Matt@oCarbon]

Me too Cory but when its done well be some of he very few people on the planet to have this. Good work Matt. Thanks.

Pretty much sums it up right there. As much as I'd love to pump these out and sell a ton of them, the production process is going to make that very difficult (and is probably why Audi didn't do anything better with the pieces).

Those that do end up getting these will be one in a few. I don't think I'll be able to do more than 5-10 every couple months.

[Jay]

One of the big setbacks that I've still got to try and figure it out is how to keep vacuum once I disengage the pump.

Can you rig something up with air-hose couplers/quick connectors?

[Matt@oCarbon]

Can you rig something up with air-hose couplers/quick connectors?

In my experience with the air tools we have here, they still always have small and slow leaks (but maybe that is just because we have shitty tools here). If I forget to turn off our compressors, both of them will kick on after a few hours.

[B8bydesign]

Pretty much sums it up right there. As much as I'd love to pump these out and sell a ton of them, the production process is going to make that very difficult (and is probably why Audi didn't do anything better with the pieces).

Those that do end up getting these will be one in a few. I don't think I'll be able to do more than 5-10 every couple months.

Well if you're taking pre-orders, you can certainly count me in!

Glad you're taking your time with these though, quality > quantity any day.

[Matt@oCarbon]

Well if you're taking pre-orders, you can certainly count me in!

Glad you're taking your time with these though, quality > quantity any day.

Shoot me an email at matt@ocarbon.com. I think I have one extra vent/mmi piece in this run that is unsold.

[B8bydesign]

Shoot me an email at matt@ocarbon.com. I think I have one extra vent/mmi piece in this run that is unsold.

E-mail sent!

[Matt@oCarbon]

After playing around with the test pieces for a bit, it was time to start a real part with the matching 8HS fabric.




The fabric is taped and cut to fit the part.



I now paint the silver piece black before it is wrapped. *This ensures that there are no silver bits peeking around on the edges, or perhaps where there is a sliver of a gap in the weave of the fabric.



Epoxy is applied to the part.



Part is placed in the vacuum and is instantly molded.






Stay tuned for more...

[Matt@oCarbon]

Switched up bags again. Much tighter seal. Also, this bag can withstand heat up to 400F, so I'm going to try a few this week inside the oven to try and speed things up.



Such a tight seal that we can finally see the slope on the bottom "bridge:"



At full vacuum, the piece begins to collapse on itself, so this is only at about half vacuum.


I had to rig up a bracket to support the piece. I will make something a bit more permanent once I have the time.

[Matt@oCarbon]

Switched up bags again, and I think it paid off. This bag doesn't have as much heat resistance, but it stretches much, much better. You'll notice there are hardly any pleats across the part, unlike the last two pieces. I've also changed the sealant tape again, which seems to be helping as well.

I've also bought a second pump and setup a dedicated area in the shop for these, so this weekend I'm going to try and run multiple parts at once and see if we can speed things up a big.

I apologize for the poor picture quality on these, the new area isn't lit very well. I'll get a shop light so that future pictures have more detail:

[voltrons_head]

Looks good Matt.

Any eta yet?

[Matt@oCarbon]

Looks good Matt.

Any eta yet?

Whoops, sorry I missed this.

I'd assume week or so for the epoxy on top of the pieces to cure, few days to trim and sand, clearcoat only takes a few hours to spray, but will be 3-4 days to cure. Hopefully the first few will be completed in the first week or two of March, with the rest being completed the following week. Totally a rough estimate though and assumes that there are no problems.

[voltrons_head]

Great. I'm getting excited.

[cory_can]

Great. I'm getting excited.

Deja Vu

[Matt@oCarbon]

More pictures and info here:

We've made a lot of progress over the last few days and should be finishing up the first few of these really soon.

[Extremesport3]

Matt - i have to say these are some really quality pieces you are producing.... keep up the great work!

John

[Matt@oCarbon]

These are coming along nicely. I've got them under an infrared lamp to see if I can speed up the cure time a bit. We'll be clearcoating some in the next few days, I'll be sure to add some more pictures of those as soon as they're done.

[Joey]

Sick