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Introduction

For nine years I have been using foam materials, and in particular Zotefoam, to make lightweight shells for HPVs. Zotefoam is a closed cell cross-linked polyethylene thermoplastic material which, with the application of heat and pressure, enables three-dimensional shapes to be formed from flat sheets. Even at high temperatures, the cross-links maintain the foam structure, and after cooling they allow the foam to retain the shape of the forming mold. Correct application of heat and force is the key.

Most composite shells are built by constructing first a male mold and then a female mold, which is labor intensive and quite expensive. For thermo-forming a Zotefoam shell, I have developed a system which requires only a male mold, and only a minor amount of equipment.

This manual describes a system by which you can produce a very light shell to be used as a prototype to check out a new design, or for making a few copies off a low cost mold, or for making a finished product out of a home workshop. For higher volume production, the system is still practical, and the mold can be improved by applying a layer of muslin cloth and plaster to protect the mold from accidental melting during the process of heat-forming the foam.

Sections:

Introduction
1. Mold
2. Color Layout
3. Heating and Forming
4. Trimming and Cutting
5. Gluing
6. Internal Braces
7. Installing the Trike
8. Tail
9. Door
10. Canopy
11. Turtledeck

jgtetz@msn.com
Succasunna, NJ
April 2005

The following links may be useful:

Home factory in Croydon, England:
www.zotefoams.com/uk

American factory in Walton, KY:
www.zotefoams-usa.com

Rubberlite
2501 Guyan Ave.
Huntington, WV 25703
304-525-3116
www.rubberlite.com

My other HPV projects:
http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/projtetzmain.html

VFS (Vacuum Foamshell, completed in 2003):
http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/VFS/
projtetzVFS00intro.html

OFS (Orange Foamshell, completed in 1997):
http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/OFS/
projtetzOFS.html

Building foam stiffeners:
http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/OFS/
projfoamstiff.html

Building foam wheel discs:
http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/other/
wheeldiscs-new.html

Welding Zotefoam:
http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/VFS/
projtetzVFS13zotewelding.html

Foam projects by other MARS members:
http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/projfoam.html

Other HPV projects on the WISIL site:
http://www.recumbents.com/wisil