In the field of car tuning, there is often talk of particularly light materials when it comes to weight optimisation. Especially in the areas of car tuning and motor sports, it is necessary to use particularly stable and at the same time lightweight materials. Various materials such as glass fibre reinforced plastic (GRP), carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) and aluminium are conceivable here. All these materials are light and stable. In contrast to GRP and CFRP, aluminium is a particularly complex material to produce. GRP and CFRP make it particularly easy to produce workpieces. Almost any shape can be produced with these composites.
What is a carbon fibre reinforced plastic?
Carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) is more colloquially known as carbon and belongs to the family of composite materials. The actual CFRP consists of two main components:
- Multiple layers of carbon fibres and
- A special resin.
The carbon fibres produce very high tensile strengths, especially in the longitudinal direction. To ensure that this tensile strength is built up as equally as possible in all directions, the CFRP is manufactured in such a way that the longitudinal fibres are aligned in all directions. During the design of a workpiece in the office, a computer programme assists in the placement of the carbon mats in order to achieve the highest possible strength with a low material thickness.
So that the individual layers of the carbon mats can bond firmly together, the synthetic resin is used as an adhesive. The synthetic resin is applied particularly carefully to the previously laid-out carbon fibre mats. During the manufacturing process, attention is always paid to cleanliness in order to avoid inclusions and associated weak points.
Advantages of the material
Carbon is not only popular in the automotive sector due to its easy processing and lightweight construction as well as its stability, as it is half the weight of steel and completely corrosion-free. Carbon parts are always used when there are special requirements for a product. Custom-made carbon parts are not uncommon. The production takes place without great effort and is also possible in small series. All that is needed is a mould to correctly construct the workpiece. Once the mould has been made, any number of workpieces can be produced.
Carbon parts, in the form of a wide variety of car parts, possess not only high strength but also a special surface that is highly sought after among enthusiasts. The high strength of the material means that in the event of a collision with an obstacle, the energy is absorbed very well. Due to its high strength, carbon can even contribute significantly to vehicle safety if appropriate car parts are fitted in critical places.
What can the material be used for?
The material, which is mainly handmade, is produced in small batches. This means that almost any shape is conceivable. Especially in car tuning, carbon parts are used in a wide variety of places:
- As trim elements, for the visual upgrading of interior and exterior parts of a vehicle.
- Parts of the bodywork, for example: Bonnet, wings, boot lid, spoiler etc.
- The body itself, by producing the complete frame as one large carbon element.
In less critical applications, such as bicycles, the use of carbon is also quite common for rims. The particularly stiff construction and the noble surface make the material not only desirable, but also expensive. Due to hand production, the costs increase the larger and more complex a workpiece is.
How is a workpiece made of carbon produced?
First, wafer-thin carbon fibres are passed through a production line consisting of various oxidation and high-temperature furnaces and a special surface treatment. From this, the initially white fibres are then refined so that they turn black. They also lose more than half their weight. From these individual fibres, which have a thickness of 0.007 mm (a human hair has a thickness of about 0.05 mm), individual mats are produced.
In order to be able to produce a workpiece, a mould similar to a baking tray is needed. The carbon fibre mats are laid out in this mould and enclosed with the synthetic resin. Then the curing takes place under heat and pressure, so that each workpiece comes out of the mould perfectly formed and can go into further processing.
Further processing often consists only of finishing the edges, breaking out excess material and polishing the surface. This means that the workpiece can go into use immediately after cooling.
Historical origins of carbon
Due to ever-increasing demands for ever-more diverse materials, as well as ever-lighter construction methods for vehicles and machines, the search for new and innovative materials was feverish. Towards the end of the 1960s, carbon fibres appeared on the market sporadically, at extremely high prices (around 1500 €/kg), and were initially used in the aerospace industry. Having arrived in the present day, carbon is now used in almost every industrial sector:
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Shipbuilding
- Mechanical engineering
- Medical engineering
- Wine energy
- Off-shore
- Sporting goods
- etc.
Thus, a then novel and rather unknown material, carbon fibre, has become a very universal and versatile material today, from which many products are created.
Distribution and sourcing
Carbon is not a material that the do-it-yourselfer can simply produce at home in the garage. In order to be able to manufacture products, a large production line is required until the actual workpiece emerges from the machine ready for use. Accordingly, development and production centres are needed to turn individual fibres into beautiful workpieces. The Carbonwerk Germany is specifically focused on vehicle parts and offers vehicle parts for different brands in its onlineshop. The vehicle parts produced by Carbonwerk Germany are 100% compatible with the original parts of the individual vehicle manufacturers, even if they were not produced by the manufacturers themselves. All items offered are shipped including material certificates.
Look around today in our online shop. If you do not find what you are looking for here, we will be happy to advise you on various special designs.