All About Carbon Fiber: What You Need to Know | Jaycon Systems
Brief History
The earliest form of carbon fiber dates back to 1879 when Thomas Edison used cotton threads, or bamboo slivers to create filaments for the first incandescent light bulb. Edison baked the filaments, which “carbonized” the cotton threads/bamboo slivers, creating carbon atoms that led to the discovery of an all-carbon-fiber filament.
Almost a decade later, Roger Bacon, a physicist would set out to determine the triple point of graphite. Through his research, he would later go on to invent the first high-performance carbon fiber. Following Bacon’s discovery, this process was developed by scientists in Japan and England who created their carbon fiber. Today is known as Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) — a synthetic, semi-crystalline organic polymer resin — as the precursor which greatly improved the strength and modulus of the carbon fiber.
Due to its efficiency, it became the industry standard as the most common carbon fiber precursor, consisting of about 90% of carbon fiber.
How it’s made
It should be noted that the polymer that makes up more than 90% of carbon fiber is white, but is turned black due to the manufacturing process involved in carbon fiber production. To manufacture carbon fiber, the precursor material (PAN) will go through stages of oxidation and carbonization; this oxidation process heats PAN fibers to a high temperature, increasing the fiber’s melting point.
Next, the carbonization process involves moving the oxidized fibers through specially designed high-temperature furnaces. These furnaces have purge chambers that prevent oxygen from coming in contact with the fiber which extracts non-carbon molecules from the fiber. This process produces strands of fibers that are more than 90% carbon. However, this method of manufacturing carbon fiber is considered to be costly and high in consuming energy, limiting the wide deployment of this material in different industries.
Appearance
After the carbon fiber manufacturing process, it takes the form of strings, where it undergoes a weaving process. By weaving the carbon fiber, the structural strength of the carbon fiber is reinforced significantly. There are many different weaves to go with different applications; The most common are Plain weaves, Twill weaves, and Harness Satin weaves.
Uses
Due to its impressive properties such as:
- being lightweight
- being UV resistant
- having a high strength-to-weight ratio
- having optimal strength and stiffness properties
- and possessing exceptional durability
this material can be used in a variety of high-performance applications across various industries, including:
- Aerospace (e.g., aircraft),
- Sporting goods (e.g., hockey sticks),
- Green energy (e.g., wind turbine blades),
- Automotive (e.g., racecars),
- Medical (e.g., prosthetic leg),
- And many more industries!
If the production cost of this composite material is lowered due to improvement in manufacturing processes, the use of this versatile material in the home may be as wide as our imagination. With this increased production, consumers will be able to enjoy the benefits in the form of more technology utilizing carbon fiber materials, or smaller items such as iPhone cases, pens, and even bow ties.
Conclusion
From the most common prototyping materials such as ABS to high-grade production materials like carbon fiber, Jaycon Systems offers recommendations on the right material for any application you may need. Our team at Jaycon will help you with designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your product, ensuring that your vision for a product is brought in to impact the world. Share your great ideas with us to turn them into reality! You can learn more by visiting the Jaycon Systems website.
Stay tuned to learn more about the different aspects of carbon fiber and other composites.
Originally published at https://jayconsystems.com on December 3, 2021.
