custom carbon fiber zero clearance plate for kapex

[#Tee]

Hi all in celebration of my new kapex ive been wanting to make this so bad lol! my first cut with it was on my custom plate made of 1.7mm 2x2 weave carbon fiber topped with 1/4in acrylic. it sits about .5mm below the turn plate and its a interference fit so no need to use those bolts and it takes 1 sec to remove should you need to do a bevel or you can just leave it on but it looks crappy after a few cuts if you do so.

I love the look! its easier to wipe and clean off..yes i riced out my saw  [big grin] just wanted to share! i think i might make a fence after to match

 

[wow]

I want one - how much!

 

[EV]

Lovely,

Will ask for one when I get my KAPEX!!!!! [cool]

EV

 

[vecrea]

Very nice. The only question is to know where i can send you money to send me one of these ;-)

 

[morts10n]

I'd love a couple, too.

 

[peter halle]

Very nice!  I've got a couple of carbon fiber projects in mind.  Perhaps yours will get me off of my hibernating butt.  [big grin]

Peter

 

[sae]

Nice.

I assume you just used a pattern router bit on some premade panels?

 

[Stefanb07]

I loooove this!

 

[nclemmons]

Very cool - interested if you decide to make them, or share your plans / process!

 

[#Tee]

Very cool - interested if you decide to make them, or share your plans / process!

I just used the ts55 and belt sanded the corners, i dont really like to cut cf cause of health reasons and the itch but the results are always pleasing to the eye. ill make more if everyone is interested but dont know how much to charge? its such a nice treat to the kapex and makes it look more modern. ill see if i can gather up more cf and acrylic and batch out a few. still planning on the fence design, i dont want any bolts to show for a cleaner appearance and easy on off removal.

 

[RKA]

Ha, that's awesome!  I've spent weeks configuring my next car...CF everywhere!  I'd love to add some bling to the Kapex too! 

 

[Slowlemur]

If you wanted to sell, you'd probably have to automate it.  Doing the cuts with a TS55 and then belt sanding might take more time and be less accurate.  I've got a CNC, I bet you could just spec it and just 'print' these things out.

 

[sae]

Yeah, better yet, just get 'em waterjet. I bet it'll cost you less than a dollar a piece and someone else can deal w/ the cleanup.

 

[doctr-dan]

Forgive my ignorance but what's the point of these other than looks?
Ps I'm a huge carbon fibre fan .

 

[Kevin D.]

Forgive my ignorance but what's the point of these other than looks?
Ps I'm a huge carbon fibre fan .

They're perdy are they not?

I'd like one myself.

 

[RKA]

Forgive my ignorance but what's the point of these other than looks?
Ps I'm a huge carbon fibre fan .

That's pretty much it.  If you drop the blade onto the work piece, a zero clearance plate below may prevent some tear out, but I usually slide it into the work piece, so the tear out is against the fence (which is the second piece the OP wants to make).  In fact you could make a case that a zero clearance throat plate is a liability if do bevel cuts a lot.  If you're going to take it out for each bevel cut, it could get old quick.

 

[OnhillWW]

Beautiful, I love CF!  That said - that plate will not prevent tearout as it is not flush with the surface of the table. The void between the workpiece and the plate will allow tearout, you can shim the bottom such that it fits flush with the surface of the table and problem solved. Where did you source the CF plate, it is beautiful with that nice smooth glossy surface?

 

[#Tee]

i hope you guys know the stock plate is about a 1mm below the base. i can easily shim it up for a flush fit which i do not want to do if its flush then it will mar the acrylic over time. you can buy the betterly plate and remove 6 bolts everytime you want to swap out for a bevel cut. ive pushed and pulled on the my cuts and its supported fine. 1 sec to remove and install.

The cost of getting parts cut on a water jet is not cheap, i can get them CNC too but i would have to drive and talk to ppl and supply them with parts when i can just batch them out on a jig with 4 cuts and route 4 corners. with all the trim carpenters in here im sure everyone can make this in 10 mins out of any material they want.

 

[tallgrass]

while carbon fiber is cool stuff cutting it should not be taken lightly.i use diamond cutters in my cnc machines to cut it, and heavy filtration. the dust is not to be triffled with. one, it is heck on bearings, 2 it is a health hazzard.  i dont want to be a kill joy but care should be taken when working with carbon fiber in the production of dust. i am not saying don't do it,but be careful.

 

[clutzer]

Very cool - interested if you decide to make them, or share your plans / process!

I just used the ts55 and belt sanded the corners, i dont really like to cut cf cause of health reasons and the itch but the results are always pleasing to the eye. ill make more if everyone is interested but dont know how much to charge? its such a nice treat to the kapex and makes it look more modern. ill see if i can gather up more cf and acrylic and batch out a few. still planning on the fence design, i dont want any bolts to show for a cleaner appearance and easy on off removal.

I've done my entire M3 trim kit in Carbon Fiber and love it.  You might consider a CF wrap approach where you apply one layer of CF cloth to a plastic or MDF base panel and epoxy (e.g. West Systems) layers with clear coat to finish.  That way you minimize the actual amount of CF material to disperse into the air when cutting/sanding.  Those are my two cents, and what I'm gonna do when I get my Kapex this Feb ;-)