Material: Carbon Fiber is awesome!
Let’s talk about carbon fiber! I am super thrilled with how this one turned out. We’ve been making carbon fiber inlay Norseman for 10 years 12 years so it’s nothing new for us, but what is new is the processes we’re doing and the level with which we’re trying to make them and now that I’m getting back into it I want to make a lot of inlays not just this shape, I want to make other shapes – I want to make inlays for all kinds of stuff. I really have been going down down the rabbit hole of carbon fiber lately you can almost call it my latest hyper obsession and I’m not quite to the point of telling my wife about everything about carbon fiber but I’m close. Carbon Fibre is a super cool material – it does have its challenges. It is super abrasive and not good to breathe. So we machine it wet under coolant and then we filter out the coolant.
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What is Carbon Fiber?
Carbon fiber is a strong, lightweight material that is widely used in various applications where high strength-to-weight ratios are critical. It is composed of thin, strong crystalline filaments of carbon that are used to strengthen material. Carbon fiber can be thinner than a strand of human hair and gets its strength when twisted together like yarn. This yarn can then be woven into fabric or combined with other materials in a composite, such as resin.
Here are some key characteristics and uses of carbon fiber:
- High Strength and Low Weight: Carbon fiber is known for its high tensile strength, stiffness, and low weight compared to other materials like steel or aluminum. This makes it particularly useful in applications where weight savings are crucial.
- High Chemical Resistance: It is resistant to many chemicals and is corrosion-resistant, which is beneficial in harsh environments.
- High-Temperature Tolerance: Carbon fiber maintains its properties at high temperatures better than most other materials, making it suitable for use in high-temperature applications.
- Low Thermal Expansion: It has a low coefficient of thermal expansion, meaning it doesn’t expand or contract much with changes in temperature, which is crucial for precision applications.
- Applications: Due to its unique properties, carbon fiber is used in a wide range of industries, including aerospace (for parts of airplanes and spacecraft), automotive (in high-performance vehicles for bodies, chassis, and components), sporting goods (for bicycles, golf clubs, and fishing rods), and in the construction of lightweight but strong structures.
- Manufacturing Process: Carbon fiber is produced by the controlled oxidation, carbonization, and graphitization of carbon-rich organic precursors, which are usually polyacrylonitrile (PAN), rayon, or petroleum pitch.
While carbon fiber offers many advantages, it can be relatively expensive to produce and difficult to recycle, which are considerations in its use and development. Despite these challenges, its unique properties make it a highly sought-after material in many high-tech industries.