DIY stand using alternate materials?

[nickng]

Haven't seen anyone attempt to build a stand using carbon fibre material either for reinforcement/support or as the main build material. Has this been done? are there any threads out there.
Or maybe with some other light-weight but tremendously stiff materials like honeycomb Nomex with fibreglass or Nomex with carbon fibre?
Just curious.

 

[CasperOe]

Haven't seen anyone attempt to build a stand using carbon fibre material either for reinforcement/support or as the main build material. Has this been done? are there any threads out there.
Or maybe with some other light-weight but tremendously stiff materials like honeycomb Nomex with fibreglass or Nomex with carbon fibre?
Just curious.

It seems overly complicated, expensive and somewhat hard to achieve. Might that be a reason why you havent seen it?

What beast of a tank are you trying to support that can't be supported with something as simple (and strong!) as aluminium?

 

[MDAquatics]

It's cost prohibitive and most people lack the blades or tools to appropriately deal with it. Wood or aluminum is foolproof and the reason why so few stray from it.

 

[nickng]

It seems overly complicated, expensive and somewhat hard to achieve. Might that be a reason why you havent seen it?

What beast of a tank are you trying to support that can't be supported with something as simple (and strong!) as aluminium?

Oh I was thinking along the lines of a carbon fibre sub structure. It's possible to get pre-cut carbon fibre rods and plates and use them to build the structure. It will be plenty light and strong and super stiff too for a big 200+ gallon tank.
And then maybe skin the whole thing with conventional ply or acrylic skins?
Carbon fibre panels will be too expensive. Nomex probably cheaper - again stick with prefab sizes - too hard to cut.

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didn't think this is exorbitant? Of course it's extremely hard to cut even with carbide cutters. So getting precut or precision pre-made pieces will be the way to go unless too pricey.

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[CasperOe]

Oh I was thinking along the lines of a carbon fibre sub structure. It's possible to get pre-cut carbon fibre rods and plates and use them to build the structure. It will be plenty light and strong and super stiff too for a big 200+ gallon tank.
didn't think this is exorbitant? Of course it's extremely hard to cut even with carbide cutters. So getting precut or precision pre-made pieces will be the way to go unless too pricey.

DragonPlate | Engineered Carbon Fiber Composite Sheets, Tubes and Structural Components | Made in USA

DragonPlate is a leading innovator in high performance carbon fiber-reinforced composites. From custom carbon fiber shapes, to products including tubes, sheets, plates and more, DragonPlate has a solution to fit you.

dragonplate.com

but.... why? don't get be wrong, I love the idea; I am too a sucker for exotic and nice materials but it is bonkers

Anyhow, I hope you move forward with it- and that you will bring us along! Best of luck!

 

[nickng]

but.... why? don't get be wrong, I love the idea; I am too a sucker for exotic and nice materials but it is bonkers

Anyhow, I hope you move forward with it- and that you will bring us along! Best of luck!

I was just throwing the question out to the community, in case someone says it can't be done because of the exposure to saltwater etc will degrade the binding resins. In my case I will probably use aluminum but put carbon fibre rods to stiffen up the structure.

 

[theatrus]

Not a materials scientist or engineer.

Don't know of any major problems with it - bonding carbon fiber together requires some different techniques. The biggest advantage is the whole structure is much lighter, so you could single person move the stand around .

Cost efficient? heck no. Pay attention to the members in compression vs tension, as that strength may differ a lot from traditional materials.

 

[CasperOe]

I was just throwing the question out to the community, in case someone says it can't be done because of the exposure to saltwater etc will degrade the binding resins. In my case I will probably use aluminum but put carbon fibre rods to stiffen up the structure.

Oh- I am sure it can be done with the right tools and the right technique! And I really hope you will because it would be a very interesting build indeed!

 

[theatrus]

Oh- I am sure it can be done with the right tools and the right technique! And I really hope you will because it would be a very interesting build indeed!

Absolutely - I'll subscribe in an instant

 

[air_run]

You haven't seen it because it's just not worth the payoff in the end. The cost, time, research, materials, finding someone or company with knowledge and experience to do this just to hold an aquarium, isn't worth most people's time or interest. We see this in the sign business all the time. Companies/brokers want these expensive and elaborate interior signage/signs for fast food restaurants for example just to tell customers, "Order Here".

Not that I am discouraging out of the box thinking or doing cool things like this, I think it would definitely be neat and different. I'd for sure be interested in seeing something like this done.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Doing a little research, you will find that carbon fiber doesn’t handle compression loads well vs other load types. I found values of 300-1,000 MPa for compression strength. Compare this to aluminum which is around 150-250 MPa and it’s not much savings. Put simply, if it takes solid aluminum 1.5x1.5 to hold up the weight, it would take carbon fiber .75x.75 to hold up that same weight. That doesn’t seem like such a good trade off for something that’s just going to hold up a tank. But to each their own.

 

[BZOFIQ]

People do carbon fiber for weight savings.

Why would anyone need to make the stand that the ton-heavy tank sits on to be light in itself?

But if you have money and will...it's your money after all, surprise us.

CarboSix | Framing Technology

www.framingtech.com

 

[rsp919]

I was just throwing the question out to the community, in case someone says it can't be done because of the exposure to saltwater etc will degrade the binding resins. In my case I will probably use aluminum but put carbon fibre rods to stiffen up the structure.

Many a boats are made with carbon fiber. I would think as long as it was made with an epxy resin you should be fine. I started to put some carbon panels on the inside of my stand. not for strength or light weight, just because I have a thing for carbon and like the looks. I changed my mind and went with white board to brighten it up and make it easier to see.

If I could just hit the Powerball my next stand would be an exposed carbon frame with billet titanium connectors. And since money is no object, a built in shelf next to the sump with a gallon of gas and a carton of eggs. In a vacuum sealed acrylic container for preservation of course.