3D printed parts for resin infusion

 This is a vacuum exhaust fitting. I’ve designed it to be deliberately flat so the release film will stretch around it. I’ve previously used these silicone connectors from easy composites. They’re quite good and just over 3 pounds each. The connector I’ve printed has a hole for a 6mm hose and a stop at the bottom so the hose just doesn’t sit on the mesh. They also have a larger surface area sat on the mesh to help pull vacuum out. Mine aren’t reusable, and only cost 19p each to print, and take about 15 minutes. 
I did a large infusion for the tub recently, and had no end of problems, to the point of scrapping the tub. I’ll write that up later, but one of the issues was that one of my pipes jumped off the clamp and sucked air in. Rather than use a simple OTS clamp, I’ve printed something specific for a 10mm hose and a 10L bucket. The hose is a snug fit and the height from the bottom of the bucket can be nicely set and held just with friction. No more springing hoses ever again. 

Thinking out loud for the resin load

Area Cloth Layers Weight
4.5 600 4 10800
4.5 300 2 2700
Sum 13.5
Resin 5.4

 

So, I can expect to need 5.4kg of resin to infuse this part, assuming a load of 40% by the time you include pipework, mesh, etc. The actual part itself should only take a load of 30%, but I can measure the weight of the part afterwards to see what the actual load is.