Carbon fiber composite, usually called carbon composite, is typically a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) or carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP).
Carbon composite – an excellent choice for industrial applications
Steel and aluminum are the most used metals for machines and their moving components. Carbon composite is an excellent choice for industrial users because of the unique properties of carbon composites. This material is highly efficient due to:
- five times more strength than steel and 30-40% lighter than aluminum;
- attractive appearance;
- very low thermal expansion;
- excellent corrosion resistance; and
- vibrating dampening properties.
Carbon composite’s vital applications
Modern industry has too much dependence on carbon composite that is used in many industries, including aerospace, automotive, civil engineering, sports equipment, the superstructure of ships, and consumer product industries.
Machine parts
Machine parts, carbon fiber composites are becoming a common material for making production equipment.Machines work in a highly variable temperature environment. Vibration reduction is a property commonly required for 3D scanning technologies. The properties of carbon composites are extremely suitable for measuring tools and devices.Carbon improves the efficiency of the machine due to shorter acceleration and braking time by decreasing the mass of the moving parts. It also means lower energy consumption. A machine demands less power.
Drones
Drones are commonly used for aerial surveys, surveillance, and photography. Weight is a critically important requirement for drones, as they remain in the mid-air for a longer span. They are very efficient for performance by floating in the air because the material used in their making is quite lightweight. Drones are mostly built from Carbon Fiber sheets and tubes that are ideal materials for this particular application, due to their favorable properties. The costs of making drones are very high, but relatively simple processing of carbon composite sheets and tubes considerably reduced the cost by eliminating some of the cost of the expensive mold-making. The use of lightweight carbon composite sheets and tubes also facilitates precise movements, longer flight times, and heavier carrying capability for cameras, cargo, or other equipment in drones.
Airplane parts
Airplane parts are often made from carbon fiber composites, pure carbon composites, and core carbon sandwiches.
Water sailing vessels
They are suitable materials for their lightweight and strength, as the carbon composites are used as strengthening and protective plates. This material allows water vessels to move faster due to the lightweight.
Motorsports
The performance in motorsports depends on racing vehicles’ weight. Lighter cars, motorbikes, boats, and other motorized and non-motorized vehicles are kept low in weight for more speed. Their manufacturers use carbon composite sheets in their making for enhanced speed performance.
Other applications
Carbon composite sheets are suitable for many other commercialconsumer and technicalapplications, such as X-ray targets,heating elements, furnace fixturing, heatshields, load plates, jewelry and rings, knives and knife handles, engine valves for two-stroke engines, and many more. The properties of carbon composite materials are more suitable than other commonly used materials. This material is most suitable for rocket nozzle manufacturingthat requires maintaining a high degree of integrity in an extremely rapid temperature increase in a highly corrosive atmosphere.
Pluses and minuses of with the carbon fiber processing methods
For CNC carbon fiber with a complex design, Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling machine allows cutting very precise shapes and can include small holes and indents. It is an automated control for machining. However, the water jet cutting method is faster than the CNC method, but inferior in precision and finish qualityof the product.Indents and engraving are also not possible in the second method.Laser cutting is not a suitable cutting method for a hard to achieve surface quality.
- One of the advantages of carbon fiber composite sheets is that they can be shaped and processed by a simple method.
- They can be comfortably sawed, drilled, milled, and sanded for various applications.
However, there are some problems with its manufacturing.
- First, the sheets are hard to machine.
- Second, the tools and cutting blades wear out quickly due to this material’s abrasive properties. This issue is resolved with the coated tools and blades; coating protects against wear due to contact with the carbon composite material.
- Third, the carbon fibers can cause galvanic corrosion when CRP parts are attached to aluminum.
How to join carbon composites
Carbon composites are the result of two elements – reinforcement and matrix.Both provide stiffness or rigidity, and a high strength-to-weight ratio to this material. The lightweight and strength are due to reinforcement and matrix.Carbon fiber provides reinforcement.A polymer resin or thermoset resin, such as epoxy, is a matrix that binds the reinforcement together. Thermostat resin (epoxy) is sometimes replaced with polyester, vinyl ester, or nylon as thermoset or thermoplastic polymers.
Joining details is not as simple as joining metal parts because they cannot be threaded or welded.
- Gluing with the help of structural adhesives is a great way of bonding in many applications.
- Lamination is an appropriate choice for large carbon fiber sheets. Lamination is excellent for achieving high strength, but it is a time-consuming process.
- Bolts, screws, and rivets are more suitable for joining thick carbon fiber sheets. It is a very simple method of joining but has the only drawback of creating the stress points around the connecting points.
New more significant carbon fiber format
Industrial researchers have worked hard to invent many new composite formats to boosting the acceptance of this material with more significant benefits and processing cost reductions. A low-temperature prepreg is an ideal alternative for its environmental benefits. Prepreg composite is a new easy-to-use, low void content composite format.
Prepreg is composite materials in which a reinforcement fiber is pre-impregnated with a thermoplastic or thermoset resin matrix in a certain ratio.Prepregs use two processes for their manufacture – hot-melt process and solvent dip process. They are cured under high temperatures and pressures due to which they are considered superior for their unique properties. They are useful for many significant applications, such as automotive components and parts; aircraft interiors and flooring; ballistic panels; UAVs; AC plant ducting; electronic transmission applications; high temperature and UV resistant parts; flame resistant laminates and foam and honeycomb panels; sporting goods. Prepreg composites have good fatigue resistance, and high strength and modulus.