×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Composite material for garden tool

Composite material for garden tool

Composite material for garden tool

(OP)
My father has invented a new garden weeder.  Currently we are pursuing Stainless steel for it's construction.  He is now developing a smaller, lighter version and we thought it be advantageous to make  the handle and blade from recycled materials or composite plastics.  Is there a source that can be molded into a blade strong enough to dig into dirt, clay and rocks?

RE: Composite material for garden tool

Carbon fiber would be your best bet for the blade. A plain weave pattern and lay it up in a 0,+45,90,90,-45, and 0 ply orientation.  

RE: Composite material for garden tool

I think you will find that fiber-reinforced composites are poor choices for a blade.  Dirt, clay and rocks will damage these materials.  It is hard to beat steel for this application.  For the handle, the composites are ideal.  Use an adhesive to join the two.

RE: Composite material for garden tool

You might save a bit of weight by having a metallic (probably steel) edge bonded (maybe mechanically fastened) to a carbon or glass laminate.

I don't think that a composite by itself would suit. Wear alone would make it very difficult to find a polymer matrix composite solution without a metallic edge.

Any shock loading would also make a laminate less appropriate as a solution. If there's much in the way of impacts you might get away with a 3D weave, or possibly a stitched laminate, with a metallic edge.
 

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources