The first product we will be introducing to the world is something that 99.99% of the population has no need for: a carbon fiber bracket that securely holds two cameras on one tripod (with an option for a third device). It’s pretty dumb to create a product that no one wants – right?
Well yes and no. I’d love to design a product that went viral – maybe a carbon fiber selfie sick that retailed for $49. I could do that, but we would be immediately overwhelmed with orders, and the business would end disaster.
So, for a start, to keep supply up with demand, we will settle for a product that only 0.01% of the population will buy. We just have to find them, and we have a very detailed plan for that.
The VARTM process is amazing. It allows us to produce carbon fiber parts with a void free laminate and an optimum fiber volume fraction – that is to say perfect!
In the world of aerospace, to get nearly that close requires expensive pre-impregnated carbon fabrics processed in million dollar autoclaves. Even then, they often accept 2% void content.
Well, as we don’t have anywhere near the kind of money to buy a million dollar autoclave that produces laminate with 2% void content, we’ll settle for the VARTM process that produces flawless laminates that costs a few hundred dollars.
Now, the only problem that we have is that the very sophisticated resin system that we use requires a whopping 36 hours to fully cure at room temperature. This is a problem for us, as even if we have a product that only 0.01% of the population has a need for, that’s too damn long to wait.
The great thing about thermoset resins like the epoxy we are using is that heat, not too much, accelerates their crosslinking (that is their final cure).
For our resin system, all that is needed is 150° F for one hour. Thus what you see is the poor man’s autoclave. The 0.01% of the population that will ultimately buy our first product has no worries!
