Composites Materials Fabrication Handbook #3--Another Shameless Plug

Still wondering how to build a good composite mold from an existing part, a clay model, or even a machined plug made from a 3D computer model? Maybe you want to make something without a mold at all using some off-the-shelf materials, but still want to give it the same strength as a typical composite part. Or, maybe still, you've got a hankerin' to understand how engineering analysis can be performed on a high performance part. Well, have I got a book for you! My latest book on composites, Composite Materials Fabrication Handbook #3, is now available for sale, and covers a wide variety of composite fabrication techniques that build on my previous two books. 

As with my previous books on composites, I've tried to incorporate answers to many of the questions that I frequently receive from students, readers, and composites enthusiasts. Each of these books has included progressively more complex projects, and this one fills in some of the gaps that existed in the prior two books. Here is a little "snippet" of some of this book's content:

• Analyzing an existing part for moldability
• Determining the most appropriate method to mold a part
• Simplifying existing parts for better molding in composites
• Adding positive and negative mold features based on an existing part
• Addressing geometric constraints on parts that need to be replicated in composites
• Preparing a part for replication using composite tooling
• Applying epoxy surface coats in a lamination
• Structural enhancements for effective, low-cost reinforcement of composite tooling
• Creating location fixtures for secondarily bonded components used with composite tooling
• How to begin using a chopper gun
• Spraying gel coat and tooling gel coat with a cup gun
• Proper use and care for cup guns
• Techniques for successful wet-out and consolidation of spray-up fiberglass parts
• Planning and developing plug structures
• Creating finished lip features in mating composite parts
• Developing flange forms for various types of plugs
• Designing composite tooling from a multi-piece plug
• Computer-based plug design techniques
• Plug finishing techniques
• Silicone compression molding techniques
• Fabricating clay models
• Developing composite tooling from clay models
• Employing epoxy molding compound as a bulking material in composite tooling
• Fabricating sheet metal and sheet plastic molds
• Laminating "moldless" composites using foamcore
• Using frameworks and draped fabric as a structure to form "moldless" composites
• Repairing scratches, dents, gouges, holes, and severe damage in composites
• Applying gel coat to repaired composite surfaces
• Technical terminology and design assumptions used in composite analysis
• Setting proper parameters, material designations, and load assignments for composite part analysis
• Interpreting Finite Element Analysis data derived from a virtual model of a composite part
• Simplified shop testing of composite parts

As you can see, there's a lot of meaty information in this book...which is part of the reason I haven't had a new blog post in quite a while. Books like this take a considerable amount time to develop. And in my case, it was done on top of having a full-time (50-plus hours a week) teaching job and raising a young family. My contract to write this book was only about six months long, but development of the book's content started several months prior to even signing the contract. With each of my books thus far, the actual contracted time for writing the book has been largely spent on typing, editing, and creating illustrations to explain the hands-on demonstrations shown in the photos (which were usually taken days, weeks, or months before). Looking back on the amount of work I put into this book, I'm amazed that my heart made it through. But I hope that this book will be helpful to all those composites experimenters and fabricators out there who want to build something that they may not have dreamed was possible before. All the best to ya'.