Carbon fiber

      Hey all, it is good to be back after a little break in the blogs.  Today i want to talk about something that almost all gear heads have at least heard of and if you haven't bu now, then  i think that you have been living under a rock my friend.  This thing is a new revolutionary material called carbon fiber and it has been taking the automotive world by storm.

      Carbon fiber begins it's existence as a strand of carbon string 1/10th the size of a human hair.  These strands are first weaved into a very intricate pattern, coated with a resin and then formed into a mold, heated and then when the resin has set, the material formed is insanely strong and also incredibly light.  These properties have a very high demand in the anorexic world of race cars and super cars where a material this light and 5 times stronger than steel is now found wherever it can replace heavier panels. For example, the entire passenger tub of the Ferrari La Ferrari is made of this stuff.  Also, cars like the Mustang GT350R have begun to mass produce wheels made of almost entirely carbon fiber.  

      There are also more than just automotive applications for this miracle material, and many people have seen visions on what they could make out of this stuff.  Everything from entire mountain bike frames to the smallest bottle opener is now found to have a carbon fiber variant somewhere on the market.  However, there is a catch like there always is.  The catch is that this stuff is damn expensive to produce and if you screw up on one single part of the mold, then the whole product is ruined.  There are many reasons as to why carbon fiber is so expensive.  (The low-grade stuff can be found for about $10 a pound if you look carefully enough).  These reasons begin at production, given that it is an oil-based material you know how that can add to the price tag really quick.  After the strands are made, the weaving process begins and this is where precision is critical.  If there is one section of the weave that is a different length or tension than the rest than the entire structure is compromised.

      There are efforts being made to increase the efficiency of production and to bring down the price of this amazing material, but there is still a long way to go before carbon fiber is totally available to the masses for a reasonable price and quality.