Xtra Posted December 4, 2020 Report Share Posted December 4, 2020 (edited) When I picked up the mold today from the shop, they had tape over every gap and over every screw head of the wood base. So I filed all the gaps and covered the screw heads with Bondo putty, it will take a couple of coats and more sanding to get it smooth and ready to varnish. Apparently the vacuum is so strong that it lifted some of the unfinished wood into the hot plastic, so I am going to have to varnish the wood as well. All this has to be done and put back together ASAP to get the samples done before the shop goes on Christmas break from December 23, 2020 to January 4, 2021. It will be tight but it is possible that Santa could bring me a Carbon Fiber intake for Christmas. Edited December 4, 2020 by Xtra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrackedDSM Posted December 4, 2020 Report Share Posted December 4, 2020 So what are you thinking for a price on these? A clear one for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 4, 2020 Report Share Posted December 4, 2020 (edited) 21 minutes ago, CrackedDSM said: So what are you thinking for a price on these? A clear one for example. I don't know yet, I asked the shop to break it down today. They are working on a minimum order number necessary to get a price break, and what it will cost per unit. I asked if they could give me the price break if we did 5 or ten units at a time, we will see what they say. All I know for sure is that the clear and the black will cost less than the carbon. Edited December 4, 2020 by Xtra 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 5, 2020 Report Share Posted December 5, 2020 (edited) Just finished patching the wood frame and gave it one heavy coat of varnish. A few drips, but they will sand out and the varnish is not on there to look good, it is to seal the wood grain and add some strength to the plywood-veneer. The good thing is that the mold will be ready when the carbon material arrives next week. I will be relieved when all the work is done on the mold, It seems like there is always just one more thing to do. Edited December 5, 2020 by Xtra 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 5, 2020 Report Share Posted December 5, 2020 (edited) As long as I had the mold at home I did a few tweaks to it. As you know I added the screws to locate the holes then I tightened up some of the tolerances for an all-around better fit, and last I adjusted the wings to be more distinct and line up with the body panel better. Edited December 5, 2020 by Xtra 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 You must be a perfectionist LOL 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 7, 2020 Report Share Posted December 7, 2020 (edited) The carbon arrived one day early and It has a nice gloss finish. Now to test to see if it can be vacuum formed and is compatible with the mold. The plastic shop has never seen or worked with this type of composite material before. This is a very special material, it has a thermoformable plastic base with carbon fiber laminated to it, then a clear top layer is laminated over the carbon. # Bring the Bling! Edited December 7, 2020 by Xtra 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted December 8, 2020 Report Share Posted December 8, 2020 now all we gotta do is give it some Raptor lighting 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 (edited) The shop has the mold now and they will try and make two intakes by this Friday, one in black and one in carbon. Hopefully, after doing two in a row they can figure out how much time is needed, and how much to charge per unit when doing a batch. Unfortunately, I have to pay the full price for these first three units, no group discounts are available yet. If the carbon works well, it will become available in Black, White, and Red. Other finishes include black with a textured finish on the outside and smooth on the inside, and clear. If the carbon passes muster there will be a total of 5 different finishes to pick from. The carbon will have a bit of a lead time as the material is custom made. The black and clear will be in stock and should have a faster turnaround. That is unless the shop has to wait on the carbon to run a minimum size group discount batch. Edited December 9, 2020 by Xtra 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 10, 2020 Report Share Posted December 10, 2020 (edited) Making progress every day, and pricing will be settled in very soon. The first black one has been molded and is ready for trimming and drilling. The screws did their job and made clear center marks for drilling the rivet clip holes, a huge time saver. Hopefully, it will be done and installed by tonight. Edited December 10, 2020 by Xtra 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handfiler Posted December 10, 2020 Report Share Posted December 10, 2020 Impressive! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 WOW 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) The first one in black, trimmed, drilled, and installed. Smooth on the inside for better air flow. Textured on the outside for looks. The first finished intake installed. finally. And the hood closes without any interference. ** Should have washed off the bird poop on the grill before I took the photo. LOL Edited December 11, 2020 by Xtra 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) Many of you have followed me on this amazing journey and I would like to thank everyone for hanging with me on this project. Your likes and comments encouraged me through to the end even when I was struggling. Thank you all so much . Edited December 11, 2020 by Xtra 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) I just ordered a bag of rivet clips from Amazon because as I have lost a few of them, and others are showing their age. They will come in handy in the future. Edited December 11, 2020 by Xtra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) Edited December 11, 2020 by WWWPerfA_ZN0W 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) Finally, I have most of the numbers, and I managed to get a great group pricing deal. I paid more for the three prototypes than what you see below, and I had to cut the part out myself. The shop gave us a very good deal. 5 is the minimum to get a deal. The next price break is at 12. This is the breakdown for Black. With a minimum of 5, it will be $117 each + shipping. With a minimum of 12, the cost drops to $110 each + shipping For Clear add $15 to the above pricing. Carbon is still TBD. You can sign up here or PM me if you are interested. Edited December 11, 2020 by Xtra 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onyxbfly Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 Bird poop is good for 20HP minimum! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) Spent the morning at the shop refining the mold. I turned down the screws on a lathe to 0.250 inches around and 0.1 tall, then reinstalled them. Edited December 11, 2020 by Xtra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) This is the Vacuum Form machine with the mold ready to go. We will attempt to do the carbon intake this Monday 12-14-20 by the end of the day... Edited December 11, 2020 by Xtra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) This is the back of the machine, you can see the heater and the large power cable running from the control box to it. This is the real deal machine. I looked long and hard for a company that had quality equipment. Edited December 11, 2020 by Xtra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) Good tools make good parts. You can see on this part how large the bumps are that the screws made. That is why I machined them down in size before we test the carbon. That carbon material is expensive and I cannot afford to damage even one of them when molding. The carbon sheet is visible on the table at the top of the photo ready to go. This is the very first CAI to go into production for Edge Sports #001. I consider the clear and fiberglass ones prototypes. Edited April 8, 2022 by Xtra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) To ensure a proper fit every E-CAI is hand-cut and test fitted before it is packed up and shipped. I have only cut out two so far and I should get faster and better the more I do. Right now it takes me around 90 min of cutting, sanding, and fitting to finish one. Edited December 11, 2020 by Xtra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtra Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) ** UPDATE, Pricing on Carbon CAI Just for convenience, here is the menu all in one place. Black Carbon will be $189 + shipping. ( Red and White carbon are available ) Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain any discounts on the carbon material. The carbon vendor does not offer discounts, the price is fixed no matter how much is ordered . The best that I could do was to save on the labor by including it in with the black CAI minimums. This is the breakdown for Black. With a minimum of 5, it will be $117 each + shipping. With a minimum of 12, the cost drops to $110 each + shipping * Clear add $15 to the above pricing. Edited December 20, 2020 by Xtra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txaggie Posted December 12, 2020 Report Share Posted December 12, 2020 Congrats on a well done project!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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