Carbon Fibre Australia
Carbon fibre has become the buzzword these days as a material that provides very high strength to weight properties compared to traditional materials like aluminum or mild steel. It’s no wonder then that racers who strive for components that are light and strong have turned to carbon fibre manufacturers to give them these parts. If the acceptance of this advanced composite as a mainstream material is still news to you, consider that not only exotic car makers like Lamborghini and Mclaren are extensively using these materials for their cars. Even luxury car maker Mercedes has announced a lightweight version of their mid-range model which will use carbon fibre structures.
Checking out the prices for these handcrafted parts, however, can give you a mild shock when you discover they don’t come cheaply. But manufacturing parts from these advanced materials are not child’s play, despite the prevalence of kits that you will find online. Firstly, the material itself is produced from advanced composites that give the user the strength of steel but with the weight of plastic. Then you have the moulds, resins, sandwich laminates, specialized tapes, bags and other supplies that form an essential part of the fabrication process.
But far beyond having these materials, fabricating perfectly formed and finished carbon fibre parts takes significant skill and experience. Fabricating simple parts alone will require a specialized mould that the manufacturer has to invest in. Imagine then the skill, resources and dedication required to manufacture, say, a car’s entire front end from a single clip made from carbon fibre. The combination of complex curves and vast expanse of material that has to be perfectly formed is a task that only someone with years of working with this material can undertake. Knowing how to sandwich additional layers of material like Kevlar and Aramid to further add strength with a minimum weight penalty also takes years of experience. And getting a perfect pinhole-free finish every time you go through the process approaches a degree of craftsmanship that borders on artisanship.
Don’t fool yourself that you can make a beautifully-finished and multi-layered part by just watching a couple of videos that show a perfect result everytime. People who stake their reputation in making these components have invested significant hours and materials in getting up to the skill level needed to produce a perfect piece each time. One only needs to go through a few discussion boards to see the significant number of failed home-made carbon fibre projects littering the landscape. Add on the specialized tooling and equipment essential to the process and you will soon realize that well-made parts using this advanced, high-strength material is actually very good value for the money.
For more details :
Carbon Fibre Composites
Race Car Components
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