Carbon Fiber Sheets – High Gloss (Aesthetic/Cosmetic)

Our Carbon Fiber Panels are constructed with the same certified carbon fiber that is currently used in state of the art aircraft and sailing yachts. ?With the use of certified T-300 carbon fiber fabric all of our carbon fiber panels are made to the highest standards in both manufacture and material.

Carbon fiber panels have physical properties that are similar to steel. However, the stiffness of carbon fiber is superior to that of an equivalent piece of steel while also remaining much substantially lighter and is similar to plastic in weight.  This gives the carbon fiber panels a much higher strength to weight ratio by comparison.

***Currently we keep plain weave panels in stock, however twill weave panels are also available at the same price. Please call for availability. ***

***Any of our carbon or carbon / Kevlar fabric is also available for custom ordered panels and will be priced on an individual basis   ***.

 !!!!!    Single sided gloss panels are available by special order!!!!

Please remember that carbonfiberglass.com cannot be held responsible for the misuse of Carbon Fiber sheeting or panels. It is impossible for us to know what is the intended end use of these panels. It is the customer’s responsibility to determine the safety and suitability of our product for their application.  This can be achieved through research and experimental verification.

INFORMATION ABOUT CARBON FIBER SHEETS

Carbon fiber, also known as carbon graphite or CF, is a material made up of thin fibers composed mainly of carbon atoms. These fibers are extremely strong for their size due to the microscopic crystal alignment of the carbon atoms. Carbon fiber is made by twisting several thousand carbon fibers together to form a tow, which can be used alone or woven into a fabric. The fabric can be combined with a thermoplastic resin and molded or wound to create composite parts such as CFRP, which offers a high strength-to-weight ratio. Carbon fiber has several weave patterns and is popular in aerospace, military, civil engineering, motorsports, and other competition sports due to its low weight, high tensile strength, and low thermal expansion. However, carbon fiber is relatively expensive compared to similar materials such as fiberglass or plastic.

Carbon fiber is excellent at resisting tension or stretching, but it is not as strong when compressed or exposed to high shock. In 1958, high-performance carbon fibers were first created by Roger Bacon at the Union Carbide Parma Technical Center, using rayon strands heated until they carbonized. This process was inefficient, and the resulting fibers had only about 20 percent carbon and low strength properties. In the early 1960s, Dr. Akio Shindo of the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology of Japan created carbon fiber using polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as the raw material, resulting in a fiber containing about 55 percent carbon.

The strength potential of carbon fiber was observed in 1963 by the UK’s Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, Hampshire, which led to the development of industrial carbon fiber production facilities by three British companies: Rolls-Royce, Morganite, and Courtaulds. Rolls-Royce used carbon fiber in its RB-211 aero-engine to take advantage of its properties, but its ambitious schedule was endangered when the carbon fiber compressor blades proved easily damaged from bird impact. Rolls-Royce’s problems became so great that the company was nationalized by the UK government in 1971, and the carbon fiber production plant was sold to form Bristol Composites.

During the 1970s, Courtaulds continued to be a major supplier of carbon fiber for the sporting goods market, with Mitsubishi as its primary customer. In the 1980s, Courtaulds expanded by building a manufacturing plant in California, but the investment did not generate the expected returns, leading to a decision to cease carbon fiber production in 1991. Despite this, the one surviving UK carbon-fiber manufacturer, Inverness-based RK Carbon Fibres Ltd, continues to thrive by creating carbon fiber for industrial applications.

Carbon fiber filament thread is a bundle of many thousand carbon fibers, with each filament having a diameter of 5-8 micrometers and consisting almost exclusively of carbon. Carbon fibers are made from precursors such as rayon, PAN, and pitch. Carbon fiber yarn is rated by linear density or number of filaments per yarn count, with some commonly used types of weave being plain, 2×2 twill, 4×4 twill, and satin.

The manufacturing process typically involves heating the spun PAN filaments to approximately 300℃ in air, which breaks many of the hydrogen bonds and oxidizes the material. The oxidized PAN is then heated to approximately 2000℃ in an inert atmosphere of a gas such as argon, inducing graphitization of the product and changing the molecular bond structure. The chains bond side-to-side, forming narrow graphene sheets that merge to form a single, columnar filament. The resulting product is usually 93-95% carbon. Carbon fibers can also be made using pitch or rayon as the precursor, but the resulting quality is Carbon fiber can be further enhanced by heat treatment processes to create high modulus or high strength carbon. Carbon heated in the range of 1500-2000℃ (carbonization) exhibits the highest tensile strength of up to 820,000 psi (5,650 MPa or N/mm2), while carbon fiber heated from 2500 to 3000℃ (graphitizing) exhibits a higher modulus of elasticity of up to 77,000,000 psi (531 GPa or 531 kN/mm2) [1].

Carbon fiber has several advantages over other materials, such as its high strength-to-weight ratio, low thermal expansion, and high fatigue resistance, making it suitable for various applications. In aerospace, carbon fiber is used for aircraft structures, including wings, fuselages, and tail surfaces [2]. In military applications, carbon fiber is used for body armor and ballistic helmets [3]. In civil engineering, carbon fiber is used for reinforcing concrete structures, such as bridges and buildings, to increase their load-bearing capacity and resistance to earthquakes [4].

Carbon fiber is also commonly used in the motorsports industry, where lightweight components can improve a vehicle’s speed and handling. The Formula One industry has been using carbon fiber since the 1980s, with carbon fiber composites being used for the chassis, suspension components, and aerodynamic parts [5].

Despite its advantages, carbon fiber remains relatively expensive compared to other materials, which limits its use to high-performance applications. However, advancements in manufacturing processes have led to a decrease in cost, making it more accessible to a wider range of industries and applications [6].

In conclusion, carbon fiber is a material with exceptional properties, including its high strength-to-weight ratio and low thermal expansion. Carbon fiber production has come a long way since its inception in the 1950s, and it is now widely used in various applications, including aerospace, military, civil engineering, and motorsports. Further developments in manufacturing processes may lead to more cost-effective production, making carbon fiber more accessible to a wider range of industries and applications.