What is carbon fiber?
Carbon fiber is a polymer and its fibers are among the strongest and lightest materials marketed today. Carbon fiber is 5 times stronger and 2 times harder than steel but it is lighter than steel thus being the perfect manufacturing material for numerous components. If you don`t know – carbon fibers, as a raw material, are woven in a fabic.
Carbon fiber is very thin filaments, finer than human hair. These filaments are bundled together in carbon material, usually coming in tows of 3k, 6k и 12k. For the making a definate shape the fabric should be put in a mold and covered by resin. It is a strong, stiff, lightweight material that has the potential to replace steel and is popularly used in specialized, high-performance products like aircrafts, racecars and sporting equipment.
It is used in various industries due to its features. From aircrafts to jewelry you can make it all from carbon fiber.
Advantages of carbon fiber
- High rigidity and durability
- Great tensile strength
- Very low weight and high rigidity – perfect for the lovers of big earrings
- High corrosion resistance – it is almost eternal
- High thermal resistance
- Low coefficient of thermal expansion
- Resistant to UV rays
- X-Ray permeable – perfect for protecting your credit cards from scamming
- Electrical conductivity
Disadvantages of carbon fiber
- Carbon fibers will break when compressed, or pressured above their resistance level
- Relative price – carbon fiber is an expensive high-quality material.
- Very high production costs of the raw material and then of the final product
- Need of high level of technical equipment and qualification for working with
- Conducts electric current
- It is just one colour – the graphite black most known as the new black
