Week 9
Because of our difficulty melting the PEI, we opted to use polystyrene as the thermoplastic coating on the carbon fiber. The melting and handling temperatures of the polystyrene as opposed to the PEI were significantly lower (around 160 degrees Celsius as opposed to around 400 degrees) so we hoped that we would be able to have more success. Unfortunately, we were still unable to coat the carbon fiber. Despite heating the chamber to a reported 160 degrees, it was impossible to determine if the polystyrene was melting. The size of the melting chamber itself also posed an issue; we would have to melt a greater quantity of thermoplastic in a chamber with a much larger surface area for heat to escape. Winding and rewinding the carbon fiber tow after each unsuccessful trial also caused the fiber to tangle and pill, and because of the construction of the melting chamber, changing the fiber is impossible unless the chamber has cooled completely. Further trials will be conducted with the po...