Carbon Fiber Composites

Located in Fortville Indiana, Metrology Support Services has a division that specializes in custom carbon fiber composite components for the manufacturing industry. Our products are not just for show, we can design your product from a concept, create a prototype and manufacture the final product for a single part or multiple part production. Manufacturing is a fast growing segment for retooling with lighter and stronger components to increase speed and throughput. Carbon fiber composites can match if not exceed all of the strength of steel, while reducing the weight considerably. Manufacturing has picked up on the benefits of carbon fiber components where speed and accuracy insure the success of a company and its products. Replacing steel and metal components with lightweight, durable carbon fiber reduces energy costs and wear on machines driving components

A carbon fiber is a long, thin strand of material about 0.0002-0.0004 in (0.005-0.010 mm) in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in microscopic crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber. The crystal alignment makes the fiber incredibly strong for its size. Several thousand carbon fibers are twisted together to form a yarn, which may be used by itself or woven into a fabric. The yarn or fabric is combined with epoxy and wound or molded into shape to form various composite materials. Carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials are used to make aircraft and spacecraft parts, racing car bodies, golf club shafts, bicycle frames, fishing rods, automobile springs, sailboat masts, and many other components where light weight and high strength are needed. .

Carbon information Details

For more than forty years since its introduction,carbon fiber composites have remained an elusive material in the aerospace industry. Proven in jet fighters and high-end race cars for over 20 years, there is little doubt about its ability to build lighter, more durable CMM's. Offering a weight savings of 75percent over steel, carbon fiber gives CMM's a real advantage in acceleration and velocity. Carbon fiber applications include body panels, structure and functional components. Advances in processing techniques is a focus on what MSS is doing today.

Sex Appeal of Carbon Fiber

A major advantage of polymer composites over steel and the bending of sheet metal is the ability to achieve radical styling – long, sweeping curves that improve looks. Certainly, carbon fiber is associated with things that go fast – very fast, in machines like jet fighters, rockets and Formula 1 race cars. Carbon fiber is also linked to high performance sporting goods, such as golf clubs,tennis racquets, and Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France bicycles. All America’s Cup boats, and many other racing ships utilize carbon fiber extensively to remove weight above the waterline and achieve faster speed. Putting carbon fiber on to a sports car delivers the same value to the driving enthusiast. It delivers a true performance advantage, and is still relatively rare, as there is a price premium involved. In some respects,the situation with carbon fiber today is similar to that of leather seating twenty years ago, a luxury not everyone can afford. In an application where the carbon fiber pattern is exposed and clear coated, the look is considered “high-tech.”

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