Ben, what is the /"? does it mean same top and bottom?
Thanks to Ciaran, Greg and David for the donation…getting closer to purchasing blanks!
The 8 blanks that I need to buy will be used for actual shaped boards. Using the results from the tests of rectangular panels, we are able to chose the constructions that meet our 3 flex criteria (20% difference in flex between three boards). We’re building 4 boards first without instruments. Get some time in the water on them. If everything goes well, we’ll then build another 3 boards with the instruments.
It’s quite easy to dial the flex, but we needed something more durable than PU/polyester, because there’s about $500 of intruments and $1000 in engineering labor going into each board. It would have been dumb to invest all this time and money into a polyester board that could potentially break in the first week.
I was going to do sandwich construction with 1lb EPS core and pvc sandwich sheet, because it has the highest potential for durability, flex, and being lightweight. But George Gall thought more people would make use of an optimized non-sandwich construction…something that both backyarders and production guys could use…something without bagging. So there it is.
Yes that means the deck and bottom have the same lamination schedule.
From a structural optimization point of view, the deck and bottom should have the same lamination schedule **IF **the surf is doing airs or smashing lips.
**IF **you’re not doing airs or smashing lips, then it is optimal to glass the deck heavier, because then the source of most structural damage will be your feet (or body) hitting the deck.
The surfers that are riding our boards in this study, will be doing airs and smashing lips, so we will have the same lamination schedule deck and bottom.
I think Hank Johns (Graphite Master) called it (3oz 4-H satin) Impact Glass…not sure why. By itself, it doesn’t have particularly outstanding properties…except the weave is a little tighter than normal 4oz…which, come to think of it, may be slightly better for impacts.
Still I don’t want people to think that this cloth is magical. All of the outstanding properties that my tests revealed were because of the way I combined three layers of cloths. Each cloth by itself (including innegra and skinz) don’t work so well.
this is fantastic stuff 
you have even got Great White North out of lurking (I think his speciality subject is chemistry).
I’d really like to see some sandwich construction results, but understand that your and Plus One’s resources are limited.
Because of less crimp and possible better ratio fiber/resin, twill and satin wave lams are stronger and stiffer (for same weight). UD are better and the solution in aeronautique composit construction. Multi axial fiber (coat of UD with many axis like biaxial xglass) becomes a standard in nautic construction. Ifremer (national nautic organism ?) in France publish a rapport of a big test where they say that multi axial fiber are about 30% better in all properties than plain waves fiber.
Sorry for my frenglish
I spoke with Justin at Graphite Master a few weeks ago on a related topic. I had asked about impact glass versus tridirectional and whether the triD could be wrapped around a rail and laminated normally. In the course of the conversaton I learned that triD and impact are two different types of glass. I think I understood him to say that impact glass was too stiff to wrap and would be best as a deck patch. Do I understand this correctly? I think I understood that snapage was better resisted by the triD and impact and puncture better resisted by Impact glass.
I really just want to make sure we get the names correct and and that I understand what we are saying. Tall order.
And what does 1.4 mean?
I am really intrigued by what you and George are doing. Of course, here is a “but”. But, I’m concerned about the field tests. I know they have to be done, but how do you normalize for surfer weight, lip smashing energy, elevation of airs? Seems that your very deterministic lab data will always be stronger than observational data with so many variables. But it will be super fun, I’m sure.
Hey, one more thing. Say hey to George for me. I met him a few years back and he gave me a full tour of his factory. Blew me away that someone with his engineering background was translating it into better boards. I wanted to quit my engineeing job and sweep his floors.
all the best
Greg,
The glass I got from GM that they called impact glass lapped very well. Greg L had mentioned it back when he was working with Warvel on the WMD blank. I did a WMD with it and it was/is very tough! I still have a few yards of it.
Dave_D
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Here’s how we control loading conditions:
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/calling-socal-surfers-5-95-5105-157-163-lbs
Then! we have accelerometers on the board. Taking the mass of the surfer with the accelerometer data, we can get a pretty good idea how much the board is being loaded.
OK, now I’m confused on which is which. good to know, though, Dave, thx
Could laying fiberglass on a 45 deg angle promote some uneven flexing or twisting?
Only if the cloth is not balanced between warp and fill fibers. For instance, you cannot rotate Warp cloth 45 deg because the fill fibers ( at -45 deg) are fewer than the warp fibers( at 45 deg). Then it will be uneven flex. You should only rotate cloths that have basically the same fibers in the warp and fill directions.
Ben;
Check your pms. George is one of the great
unsung shapers and the best guy I never met.
Hope to check in next time I'm down at Scripps.
Best work I've seen on Sways. Keep it up!!
BKB
Thanks for the donations!
George from my home state, NH! And Havard…very generous.
Okay I got enough $ for foam and pvc stringers! Sweeeeet! I’ll be getting the foam on Monday.
Any donations from now on will be going to surfboard sensors like stain gages, flow meters and acceloremeters. I feel so good about the global surf community and Sways community. Seriously, money and ideas are being synthesized from almost every surfing corner of the world. More good things will come…
maybe there are few more teasers available, such as system setup pictures, or pics of broken samples, no surfing yet eh??
ohhh man…plastic stringers? really? Well, good luck on the next batch of stuff. Maybe you make one with a normal wood stringer just for comparison?
Of course, one of the boards will be stock glassing (E+E / E) with wood stringer for comparison.
We anticipated skepticism, so we are air brushing over the boards. No one will know which board is which. No prejudices, will factor into these tests.
It will be interesting to see if riders (plural) still choose the wood stringer.
Sorry.