1. Plastics and Composites
Engineering Portfolio
Tristan Kyle-Hammer
B.S., Plastics and Composites Engineering (ABET pending),
Western Washington University (WWU), Bellingham WA, June 2016

2. Capstone Project - Prepreg Characterization
System
Description
The goal of the project was to create a system for
the characterization of B-stage prepreg composed
of various testing methods. The system focused on
characterization techniques that were capable of
providing the user with specific information about
tack, degree of cure, and resin distribution. These
methods aimed to be standardized and proven to
be below 10% variation of the mean.
Challenges
● Communication and lack of consistency
between mentors
● Rework of project after losing team member
● Chemical preparation for DSC testing
Skills Strengthened/Learned
● Project Management
○ Timeline
○ Task delegation
○ Staying on budget (BOM)
● Characterization
○ Non-contact ultrasound (NCU)
○ Differential Scanning Calorimetry
(DSC)
○ Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)
● Analysis
○ TA Instruments
○ Gauge R&R
Volatile separation of resin for DSC testing
Custom NCU testing frame
NCU scan of prepreg material

3. Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Mold for
Carbon Fiber Skateboard
Description
The project goal was to create a fully functional
vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM)
mold. The mold was to be designed, fabricated, and
then proven to be capable of producing a quality
part.
Challenges
● Lab availability
● Achieving total wetout of part
Skills Strengthened/Learned
● CATIA Surfacing workbench
● Generating code from a CATIA design
● ShopBot machining
● Vacuum assisted resin transfer molding
processing
● Gelcoating
● Project Management
○ Team Leadership
○ Task delegation
○ Staying on budget (BOM)
Final skateboard produced with the mold
Finished and waxed mold ready for layup

4. VARTM Mold Fabrication Process
Carbon fiber and fiberglass
wrapped balsa wood core
VARTM process nearing full wetout
ShopBot machining of mold Mold after fine sanding (left). Initial
application of Bondo (right)
Bondo sanding with sanding block
before application of gelcoat
Skateboard modeled in CATIA
Initial mold design before modification for
decreased machine time on the ShopBot

5. Izod Specimen Injection Mold
Description
The goal of the project was to create an
injection mold design that intentionally induced
a common part defect. A physical property of
the part was to be examined in order to quantify
the defect’s impact on a specific quality of the
part. The choice was made to induce
over-packing and under-packing of the cavity,
and to observe how that affected impact
strength. A 2-cavity Izod impact specimen mold
was fabricated.The defect was induced by
varying the length and diameter of the runners
to the two different cavities.
Challenges
● Achieving smooth surface finish on sides of
cavity due to chatter
● Working around the different schedules of
group members
Skills Strengthened/Learned
● CATIA Part Design workbench
● CATIA Prismatic Machining workbench
● G-Code verification using Vericut
● CNC machining
● Injection mold assembly
● Injection molding press operation
● Izod impact preparation and testing
● Project Management
○ Timeline
○ Task delegation
○ Staying on budget (BOM)
Mold flow analysis of part quality Dimensioned drawing of B-plate
Completed A-plate and B-plate of mold

6. Carbon Fiber I-Beam
Description
Over 30 universities from around the world
compete every year in the SAMPE Student
Bridge Competition. The goal of the competition
is to manufacture the lightest carbon fiber
I-beam that is capable of withstanding a load of
9000 lbs in a modified 3-point bend test. Our
goal was to manufacture an I-beam weighing
less than 481 grams, which was the winning
weight the previous year. The I-beam was
constructed from unidirectional carbon fiber
prepreg. Hyperworks was used to analyze and
optimize the design, which lead to complex ply
shapes.
Challenges
● Altering a computer generated design for
manufacturability
● Achieving the same performance between
the prototype and the competition beam
Skills Strengthened/Learned
● Hyperworks
○ FEA
○ Design optimization
● ShopBot programming
● Precision prepreg layup
● Ideal design and Manufacturability
● Bagging material and sequence for
autoclave
● Autoclave operation
● Fully utilizing team strengths
Competition I-beam weighing 460 grams

7. Carbon Fiber I-Beam Design Process
Initial Model Setup
• Defined ply stacking direction for elements
• Defined 0° direction
• Defined Material
• Created Plies [0°/90°/45°/-45°] =
[Red/Green/Blue/Yellow]
• Created Laminates
Model Loading Setup
• Define loads
• Define Boundary condition
Freesize Optimization
• Ply shape
Size Optimization
• Number of each ply
• Takes into account Design Variables, Responses,
Constraints, and Objective
Final Design
• Ideal ply shape
• Ideal number of plies
Final Analysis
• Identify locations of maximum strain

8. Carbon Fiber I-Beam Manufacturing Process
Ply cutting before automation
Cured I-beam being removed from the autoclave
Competition I-beam weighing 460 grams
Automated labeling after plies had been cut
Waxed mold ready for layup Laying up the bottom flange
Prototype beam ready for testing

9. Aluminum Clock
Description
The goal of this project was to fabricate a
functional aluminum clock using CNC
machining. This was done by modeling
components of the clock from part drawings,
then generating G-Code from the models to be
run on a CNC mill. A custom designed clock
face was incorporated into the design.
Challenges
● Identifying the source of errors and
inconsistencies when verifying G-Code
● Turning an intricate hand illustration on
paper into a tool path.
Skills Strengthened/Learned
● CATIA Part Design workbench
● CATIA Prismatic Machining workbench
● G-Code verification using Vericut
● CNC machining
● Illustrator
Fully Assembled Clock
Hand drawn art for clock face
Finished clock faceVerification of CATIA produced G-Code in Vericut