Overview
It's important to have the materials you need in lab, but it can be difficult to figure out what exactly you need if you're not as experienced. To make it easier, here is a list of materials that we should generally have in lab at all times, along with the price, safety notes, and purpose of the part. Other materials, such as specific bolts, heat inserts, etc. depend on your specific application.
*Note: these links are used as a pretty good reference, but if you find links with better prices/better materials, feel free to update it!
| Part Name | Description | Safety Notes | Approx. Cost before Shipping | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STOCK (metal, plastic, other) | ||||
| Acrylic sheet | Can be lasercut. Rather brittle, so be careful when drilling/cutting (use slow speeds). Strongly not recommended for flight, crashes produce lots of fragments and break other parts. | |||
| Polycarbonate sheet | More flexible than acrylic. Don't laser cut it, because it off gases chlorine (serious health hazard) | |||
| Aluminum sheet stock | ||||
| 80/20 bars and connectors | ||||
| G10 sheet | Composite fiberglass sheet. Can't laser-cut. Can waterjet, but beware delamination | |||
| Phenolic sheet | Composite insulating material. Can't laser-cut. Can waterjet, but beware delamination. Tricky to machine. | |||
| 3D printer filament | ||||
| SAFETY MATERIALS/GENERAL LAB SUPPLIES | ||||
| Nitrile gloves | Latex-free, puncture-resistant gloves. (for reference, Latex = medical use, Vinyl = for use with food and other non-hazardous substances). Make sure we have small, medium and large (we run out pretty often) | Nitrile gloves (Amazon) | ||
| Dust masks | Good for filtering non-toxic particles like dust and dirt. | Use respirator if working with toxic particles. | Dust masks (Amazon) | |
| Respirators | Get these through MIT Medical and EHS. There are different canisters depending on the application (i.e. Only use a filter canister for approved purposes. Consult EHS for details) | Obtained via MIT Medical and EHS. https://ehs.mit.edu/site/respiratory-protection | ||
| Safety goggles | Smaller ones are more comfy, larger ones for people with glasses. | If cutting certain plastics, make sure to wear goggles that cover the sides of your eyes. | We should have these in lab already. | |
| Shop towels | Don't use them as tissues/napkins | |||
| Sharp scissors | Don't cut choself | |||
| TAPE | ||||
| Painter's tape | Usually blue tape, sticky but can be easily removed. | Painter's tape (Amazon) | ||
| Duct tape | Can fix anything!! | Duct tape (Amazon) | ||
| Gaffer's tape | Heavy cotton cloth pressure-sensitive tape with strong adhesive and tensile properties. Surprisingly expensive. | Gaffer tape (Amazon) | ||
| Kapton tape | Flexible amber-colored tape made from polyimide film, good over wide temperature range | Kapton tape (Uline) | ||
| Teflon tape | Also called PTFE tape, or plumber's tape. Used for sealing pipes, valve attachments, etc. | $10.30 for 12 1/2" rolls | 1/2" and 1/4" Teflon tape (Uline) | |
| TOOLS (for cutting, drilling, sanding, etc.) | ||||
| Multimaster | Gloves, safety goggles | |||
| Angle grinder | Gloves, safety goggles | |||
| Dremel (and Dremel bits) | Gloves, safety goggles | |||
| Drill | Gloves, safety goggles | |||
| Sandpaper | The higher the grit, the finer the sandpaper. (We usually use 60-2000 grit, but there's a wide variety that you can choose depending on your application. Wet-sand when using higher grit to get rid of the particles as you're sanding. | Gloves, Safety goggles, Respirator (if working with composites) | Easy to find at a hardware store but here's a link just in case. | |
| Flapper wheel | Good for sanding the inside of tubes to save time. Attaches to a drill. | Gloves, safety goggles, respirator (if working with composites) | ||
| Heat gun | Good for speeding up epoxy cure times, and for other applications. | Gloves, safety goggles, respirator (if material off-gasses) | ||
| EPOXY (and other bonding/filling materials). In general, cure times increase if it's colder, so keep that in mind. WARNING: Sensitizer, repeated skin contact will develop an allergy | ||||
| West Systems epoxy - FAST hardener | Working time = 9-12 minutes, cure time = 6-8 hours | Gloves, ventilated area | $69.99/quart kit | Fast hardener quart kit (Amazon) |
| West Systems epoxy - SLOW hardener | Working time = 20-25 minutes, cures in 12-18 hours | Gloves, ventilated area | $74.95/quart kit | Slow hardener quart kit (Amazon) |
| Fibreglast System 3000 epoxy | Working time = 90-120 minutes, cures in 24-36 hours. Oven-cure to increase strength (cure cycle listed on link and on back of container) | Gloves, ventilated area/respirator | $279.95/gallon kit | System 3000 epoxy (Fibreglast) |
| Aeropoxy | Used for low-temp applications. Gel time = 60-90 minutes | Gloves, ventilated area | $59.75/quart kit | Aeropoxy (Aircraft Spruce) |
| 5-minute epoxy | Used to bond things that are NOT structural. Short working time, cures in 15-20 minutes. | Gloves | $17.53/9 oz | Can find in Gelb if you need it but here's a link: 5-minute (Amazon) |
| 3M Bondo | Used as a a filler for cracks/low spots, etc. Has a low melting point, so don't use it for high-temp parts. | Requires respirator, gloves | ||
| Proline | Black in color, used as filler. Real messy. | Gloves | ||
| COMPOSITES | ||||
| E-glass | Used for electrical properties (hence the "E"). Can't be laser-cut. (This applies to fiberglass in general) | Gloves (causes splinters) | ||
| S-glass | Stronger than E-glass ("S" for structural) Can't be laser cut. (This applies to fiberglass in general) | Gloves (causes splinters) | ||
| Carbon fiber | Not radio-frequency (RF) transparent. Can be laser-cut if dry (no epoxy applied) | Gloves (causes splinters) | 3K 2x2 Twill | |
| LAYUP SUPPLIES | ||||
| Squeegees | Spatula-like tool used to apply epoxy, Bondo and other fillers. Can be cleaned with acetone while still wet. | |||
| Super77 spray glue | Spray adhesive used to attach dry composite plies to wax paper/parchment paper. Spray lightly (too much and it'll be hard to remove) | Gloves | $8.68/can | Scotch Super77 (Amazon) |
| Wax paper | ||||
| Popsicle sticks | Used to mix resin + hardener and other mixtures. Can also be made into small chisels that can aid in mold release (i.e., hammered gently into the sides of a nose cone mold using a mallet to crack the mold apart) | |||
| Disposable squeegees | ||||
| Foam rollers | Used to evenly apply epoxy during a layup and soak up excess epoxy | N/A | ||
| Silver Sharpies | Used for marking center lines on carbon fiber cutouts, and marking carbon fiber in general (cause black won't show up) | Just don't sniff it too much | $8.69/pack of 4 | Easier to buy in store but here's the link for online: Sharpies (Staples) |
| Epoxy mixing boats | Small containers used for mixing epoxy and other mixtures. Use larger bowls when adding colloidal silica, phenolic microballoons and other powders. | N/A | ||
| Pizza cutter | Tool similar to a pizza cutter, used to quickly and accurately cut fibers without fraying the edges (which happens when using scissors) | |||
| VACUUM BAGGING SUPPLIES | ||||
| High-temp vacuum bag | Outermost layer in vacuuming process. Bagging film designed to stretch up to 450% original length. Light pink in color. Suited for temperatures up to 400F. | N/A | ~$131.25/25 yards | Stretchalon 800 (Fibreglast) Go with the 1688 series and get around 20-30 yards. |
| Low-temp vacuum bag (Stretchalon 200) | Outermost layer in vacuuming process. Bagging film designed to stretch up to 500% original length. Light green in color. Not suited for temperatures over 250F. | N/A | ~$88.75/25 yards | Stretchalon 200 (Fibreglast). Go with the 1678 series and get around 20-30 yards. |
| Vacuum tape | Yellow tape used for sealing vacuum film when vacuum bagging parts. Pressure sensitive, so the harder you press, the more it sticks (so make sure it's where you want before you press it down!) | N/A | $7.95/roll | Vacuum tape (Fibreglast) |
| Release film | Generally used on top of peel ply, can be found perforated or non-perforated, used to aid in releasing part from vacuuming materials. Low temp = suitable up to 315F. High temp = suitable for up to 500F (probably won't need this one) | N/A | Low temp: $131.25/25 yards High temp: $159.50/10 yards | Low-temp release film (Fibreglast) Get the perforated kind. (1580 series) High-temp release film (Fibreglast) Get the perforated kind (3787 series) |
| Bleeder fabric | N/A | |||
| Peel ply | N/A | |||
| MOLD-MAKING | ||||
| MDF (medium-density fiberboard) | Easy to machine, durable. Good choice for making molds, but you can also use foam if ya want. | |||
| RenShape | Very easy to machine. Excellent surface finish. Good thermal stability. Professional mold-making tool | $350 32in x 8in x 4in block | ||
| Mold release wax | Applied to mold to aid in mold release. Apply 3-5 layers, letting set for 15 minutes in between coats. Can choose Meguiar's (first link) or Partall (second link), but it looks like Partall is cheaper. | Gloves | $24.95/11-oz tin (Meguiars) $12.25/24-oz tin | Mold release wax (Meguiars) Mold release wax (Fibreglast) |
| PVA film | Applied in a thin layer, helps with mold release. Dries in 20 minutes, can be wiped away with warm water after part released from mold. | Gloves | $10.75/quart | PVA release film (Fibreglast) |
| Fine-haired brush | ||||
| Gel coat | Used as a finish for molds. Don't apply too thick of a layer or it'll come off with the part. "Smells horrendous" - Dev | Requires respirator | $46.95/quart | Gel coat (Fibreglast) |
| SOLVENTS | ||||
| Acetone | Dissolves liquid epoxy. Very volatile (keep container closed or it'll evaporate away). Can be mixed with epoxy to thin it (but this will increase curing time) | Gloves | ||
| Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) | Gloves | |||
| Ethanol | Gloves | |||
| POWDERS WARNING: SILICOSIS AND RESPIRATORY HAZARD | ||||
| Colloidal silica | Essentially powdered fiberglass. Can be mixed with epoxy to thicken (acts as filler/adds strength) | Requires respirator | $16.95 | Colloidal Silica (Amazon) |
| Cabosil (fumed silica) | Powdered fiberglass. Can be mixed with epoxy to act as a filler | Requires respirator | $26.00/gallon | Cabosil (Amazon) |
| Phenolic microballoons | Phenolic in dust form. Can be mixed with epoxy to form an ablative mixture. | Requires respirator | $19.99/quart | PMB (somewhat sketchy, from Ebay) |