Rear Fender Etc

The three moulds for the shell lined up on the grass.  The top mould is to the left and the two bottom moulds on the right.  I have started sanding the right most mould as I used PVA as a release agent and it leaves some pattern in the mould.  Using  PVA insures that you do get a release.  I was not willing to rely just on wax for a release after touching up a few spots on the plug.  One more sanding in the mould gives me another chance at making it perfect.   I have built quite a few moulds but have yet to get one that is absolutely perfect. This mould so far is looking very nice. 

The rear fender moulds are now laminated and waiting to be trimmed.  I modified the recess for the chain a bit so it is possible to use just one idler if one chooses to do so.  I also added a couple of ribs to the fender so I can hoepfully build it a bit lighter as they will add considerable stiffness to the flat panel.  If necessary I can turn these recesses into tubes by filling them with foam and then laminating some material over them on the inside side of the fender.  The other option would be to just bond a flat sheet over the recess omitting the foam.  I'll try it without either of these steps to see if it will be stiff enough.  

  



Progress Report

So far I have managed to build the second mould for the Milan GT shell.

This part has been popped off the plug to clean up the parting line.  If all goes well the third and final mould for the shell will be hand laid up this week.  Just from looking at this mould it looks like I can avoid using peel ply in most of the two bottom parts of the shell so we will have a nice smooth finish on the inside of the parts like we do in the hulls of our kayaks.  It makes them easy to keep clean as the inside surface is as smooth as the nylon film used to bag the part.

It has been a while since I did this much hand laminating.  I can't see how folks do this on a regular basis.  I just detest it, having to wear a respirator, gloves, coveralls and deal with sticky gooey smelly resin.  I would much rather spend a bit more time and have it all enclosed under a bag.  Unfortunately for making moulds hand laminating is the most reasonable way to do it. 

After this there are still some more moulds to make before we can build the first Milan GT. I may take just as long to make these smaller moulds as they almost all need to be made in two or three parts so I can vacuum bag or infuse them.  Some of them took serious contemplation to figure out the best way to make the moulds.  The good part about these parts is most of the moulds are small and much easier to deal with as hand laminates. 

Progress on the Milan GT

I am almost ready to build the mould for the top of the Milan GT.  It has taken a while to get to this point.

Here you can see the flange being made.  You can also see the cockpit opening has been closed in so I can vacuum bag or infuse the parts.  The wide flange is also necessary for this.   I have also starting on some of the smaller moulds.  The folks at Raderwerk send me a vey nice light carbon seat to use in the first Milan.  I have been very carefull moulding the seat making sure I don't damage it.  

Once the mould was made I clamped a flange on so I could make the mould wider.  This is a multistep process that will take some time.  I also made a mould of the back of the seat as it has two stiffening tubes built into it.  My plan is to bag the front and back of the seat and then glue the part with the stiffening tubes onto the back of the seat.  This with avoid having to fill the tube shapes with foam.  I would be quite pleased if the weight ended up a bit less but will be happy if it ends up the same as the seat I was sent.  The seat I received was less than 700 grams without any holes drilled in it. 

The patterns for the Milan GT have finally arrived. Here is a picture of the shell pattern sitting outside the shop.

I have looked over the pattern and it is in quite good shape. There are a few spots that need touching up but nothing that will take very long.   What will take longer is closing off the openings in the plug.  If I am going to vaccum bag or infuse the parts I need an mould with no openings in it.  In the photo below you can see a jig being made of the cutouts in the floor.  I have also bonded on some drill bushings to pick up register points for mounting  the rear suspension, seat and wheel wells.

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Here is a link to a bit of video of a Milan SL.  It is interesting that you can see the speedometer on the screen.   The rider does hit some quite fast speeds. 

I am now more determined to fit into the Milan SL than before.  

First I have to build the moulds for the Milan GT.  I will be going to pick up the shipment with the plugs and some parts next week.  It should be arriving at the freight terminal in Vancouver tomorow or the next day.  Then its just a matter of it clearing customs and I can go get it. 

Milan SL & Moving

Just found an interesting picture comparing the Milan SL and the Evo K.

Now the only real question for me is will I fit.  I am just a bit tall to fit at 6'2" but I am keeping my fingers crossed that my long torso and shortish legs will do the trick.  I won't be completely disappointed if I don't fit as I will still have the Milan GT to ride. 

Luckily is taking a little longer than expected to get the patterns(plugs) for the Milan as moving our shop and house has ended up taking longer than what I planned for.  Setting up the shop properly will take lots more effort as squeezing into a space a fifth the size of before is a real challenge.  When I am finally done we will have a very efficient shop that will be a pleasure to work in.  Lots of nice views to the outside and all on one level.  Before we had two levels and I was up and down quite a few times each day.  Not that I minded the built in exercise program but it eat up some valuable time each day. Our new location is on Quadra Island just a short ferry ride away from Campbell River.  As of April 20th our new phone number will be (250) 285-2154. 

Milan Velomobile coming to North America

When I first saw the Milan velomobile on the internet I thought it was rather interesting looking and liked the idea that it was a somewhat different approach to velomobile design.   I wasn't sure if I could get used to the idea of the bumps and how they looked.  I finally got to see one in person during ROAM and it looks much better in person than in pictures.  I then had short test ride and decided that I should built it or something very similar.  It has taken since then to make the right arrangements so we can  build the Milan GT(formerly Milan MK2) and the Milan SL for the North American market.


The plugs for the Milan GT will arrive here in about a month.  Hopefully the moulds for the Milan GT will be built before the plugs for the Milan SL arrive.  The plugs for the Milan SL will leave Germany about the time I get the Milan GT plugs.  We should have our first demo models done by mid summer.