What Is Carbon Fiber? Composites 101: Fibers and Resins

What is carbon fiber? It is praised for it strength to weight ratio, and it is used in products such as rockets, race cars, bicycles and sunglasses. But what is carbon fiber reinforced plastic? CompositesWorld.com has a great article on this exact topic (posted on 3/14/2016). The following is an excerpt, click the link at the bottom to read the whole article.

“Compared to legacy materials like steel, aluminum, iron and titanium, composites are still coming of age, and only just now are being better understood by design and manufacturing engineers. However, composites’ physical properties — combined with unbeatable light weight — make them undeniably attractive. This month, CAMX Connection introduces to composites novices the fibers and resin systems commonly used in composites manufacturing.

The modern use of composite materials in manufacturing is not new, spanning several decades, going as far back as the early 1960s. And before that, the combination of fiber with a liquid matrix has been employed in a variety of applications, ranging from tried and true dried mud and straw (adobe bricks) to a concept car developed by Ford Motor Co. in 1941 that featured body panels made with natural fiber-reinforced composites…”

Click here to read the full article