Carbon fiber composite materials in aviation industry, industrial manufacturing, automobile production, medical equipment, rail transit and other fields have a wide range of applications, carbon fiber composite materials light weight, high strength, corrosion resistance, good electrical conductivity, electromagnetic shielding effect and a series of advantages have been recognized by more and more people. However, many people lack a full understanding of the production process of carbon fiber and carbon fiber composite products, so there are still a lot of questions in the practical application. Therefore, Xiamen LFT company today with many years of production experience to answer some common questions for your reference.

1. Is there a unified reference data for the performance of carbon fiber products?

The performance of a specific carbon fiber is fixed. For example, Toray's carbon fiber, T300, T300J, T400, T700, etc., has a series of parameters that can be tracked. However, there is no unified standard to measure carbon fiber composite products. Firstly, different types of raw materials will lead to different product performance, and secondly, due to the choice of matrix and product design, it will lead to different product performance. In addition to some common carbon fiber tubes, carbon fiber plates and other conventional parts, most of the carbon fiber products have to be made before production, through the sample test to determine whether the performance of the product is in line with the use of expected standards, and as a basis point, so as to carry out mass production and use.

2. Are carbon fiber composites expensive?

The price of carbon fiber composite products is closely related to the price of raw materials, the level of process technology and the quantity of products. Some products have high industrial environment requirements, special requirements for the performance and material of carbon fiber products, which requires the selection of specific raw materials, the higher the performance of raw materials, the more expensive the natural price, such as carbon fiber PEEK thermoplastic material applied in orthopedics. Of course, the more complicated the production process, the more time and workload, the higher the production cost. But when a particular carbon fibre product is mass-produced, the larger the order, the lower the cost is spread over each piece. In the long run, the superior properties of carbon fiber will extend the service life of products, reduce maintenance, and reduce the cost of use.

2. Are carbon fiber composites expensive?

The price of carbon fiber composite products is closely related to the price of raw materials, the level of process technology and the quantity of products. Some products have high industrial environment requirements, special requirements for the performance and material of carbon fiber products, which requires the selection of specific raw materials, the higher the performance of raw materials, the more expensive the natural price, such as carbon fiber PEEK thermoplastic material applied in orthopedics. Of course, the more complicated the production process, the more time and workload, the higher the production cost. But when a particular carbon fibre product is mass-produced, the larger the order, the lower the cost is spread over each piece. In the long run, the superior properties of carbon fiber will extend the service life of products, reduce maintenance, and reduce the cost of use.

3. Why do carbon fiber composite products need drawing/sample customization and mold opening?

The price of carbon fiber composite material is high, except for a few commonly used specifications of carbon fiber tube, carbon fiber plate and other products, it is difficult to achieve mass production. The specificity of the finished product is high. Generally, the manufacturers of carbon fiber composite products do not have surplus finished products in stock. And most carbon fiber composite products are used as parts, replacing traditional metal materials. Therefore, it must be customized according to the detailed drawings or real samples provided by customers. Carbon fiber products are not all need to open the mold, in some complex design, high performance requirements of the product, especially in the case of a large number of customized, it needs to open the mold. Moreover, the production process of carbon fiber composite products is different, such as molding, vacuum autoclave, etc., so whether to open the mold or to judge according to the product drawings. Generally, the product cycle of mold customization will be relatively long, and the specific time still needs to be determined according to the complexity of the product.

4. Are carbon fiber composites toxic?

Carbon fiber composite material is made by mixing carbon fiber with ceramic, resin, metal and other substrates. It is generally not toxic. For example, PEEK material mentioned above uses food-grade resin, which has good compatibility with human body and is not only harmless to human body, but also becomes an ideal material for bone surgery due to its high strength and elastic modulus close to bone cortex. Carbon fiber medical bed plate, which comes into contact with many patients every day, will not have adverse effects on the human body. On the contrary, it is of great help to the accuracy of medical diagnosis.

5. Are carbon fiber composite products all black with braided patterns?

The color and texture of carbon fiber composite products can be customized. The direction of the grain is determined by the early layup design, the default initial color is black, of course, can also rely on the late painting to change the color. Not only that, carbon fiber products can be printed on their own patterns or logos.


6. What are the differences between thermosetting carbon fiber composites and thermoplastic carbon fiber composites?

Thermosetting carbon fiber composites tend to play a role of curing agent in curing molding. The thermoplastic carbon fiber composite products mainly rely on cooling to achieve styling. Thermoplastic carbon fiber composite is not thermosetting carbon fiber composite application popularity, the main reason is that the price is expensive, generally used in high-end industry. Due to the limitation of resin matrix, recycling of thermosetting carbon fiber composites is difficult, so it is generally not considered. Thermoplastic carbon fiber composites can be recycled, as long as the heat to a certain temperature can be made twice.

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