Carbon Composite Technology

There are several methods of manufacturing carbon fibre products which include wet lay-up and resin-transfer-moulding (RTM) which have higher resin content as he resin applied to the fibre after it is placed in the mould and hence weigh more than the higher end products that are made using Prepreg. Prepreg refers to sheets of carbon fibre which have been impregnated with minimal amounts of thermo-set resin before it is cut to shape and fitted to the mould. 
Manufacturing carbon fibre products using prepreg requires:

  • hand laying the layers of prepreg in a specific pattern as determined and engineered according to the stress and load applications of any given product;
  • the layers are usually formed around an inflatable bag which is custom shaped for a particular product;
  • once the mould is closed it is placed in either a press or an autoclave –  depending on the type of mould –  and the bag is inflated to pressures up to 150 psi and the mould is heated to the required curing temperature this is usually done in stages over a period of time;
  • the mould also requires time and processes to cool after the part has cooked before the part can be removed from the mould;
  • the cycle time for one mould could be 2 to 6 hours depending on part and type of production setup; which is very long compared to injection moulding which can spit out dozens or hundreds of parts per hour;
  • parts then go through preparation processes which could include
    • removal of the bag
    • sanding
    • joining of sections and or inserts or other components
    • more sanding and touch ups
    • painting priming sanding painting etc

For more information see:
http://www.answers.com/topic/carbon-fiber
http://www.itftennis.com/technical/equipment/rackets/history.asp
http://www.itftennis.com/technical/equipment/rackets/manufacture/index.asp
http://www.itftennis.com/technical/equipment/rackets/manufacture/preform.asp
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/technologies.html

Products made from Carbon Fibre:

Because of the excellent stiffness and strength to weight ratios of Carbon Fibre it is used in a variety of sporting product including:

  • Tennis and Squash Rackets
  • Bicycle
  • High-end inline skates
  • Ski equipment  
  • Golf club shafts
  • Racing Yachts and other sailing craft
  • Racing and sports cars
  • Has been banned for use in making base ball bats because they hit the ball further and therefore change the parameters of the game.

Carbon fibre is also used in the manufacture of the Air Bus A380 and other modern commercial aircraft as well as military aircraft such as Stealth bombers and modern fighter planes. It is also used to make the huge blades on the wind generators seen in wind farm as no other material is stiff enough to make blades of their dimensions.

The Cost of Carbon Fibre is high because of the increased demand and the technology involved in making the actual carbon fibres http://www.answers.com/topic/carbon-fiber