The application of carbon fiber in the automotive field has taken the lead in racing cars and has been widely quoted in civilian vehicles in recent years. Painted with varnish, deliberately revealing a deep black woven pattern of carbon fiber components is not just for the sake of looking wind, the “high carbon” wind is getting worse.

Soft carbon fiber cloth

From paper-like softness to steel-like toughness, by stacking carbon fiber cloth in the direction of the fiber in the mold, the multi-layer cut carbon fiber cloth is layered together by epoxy resin adhesive. Use 5 to 10 or more layers of thin, flap-like carbon fiber cloth to bond into a thickened carbon fiber cloth. At this time, its flexibility is very poor, almost similar to rigid materials. The principle is like sticking a piece of paper completely into a stack of thick paper piles, and the pile becomes solid.

Bonded semi-finished products

After that, the high-temperature and high-pressure oven is used to further compress and strengthen the bonded volume. The finished product will be the finished blank of the assembly. After the process of deburring, grinding and polishing, the shiny body components are processed. This process seems simple, but the cost of carbon fiber cloth and the cost of the process still make this process impossible to apply on a large scale, and the products produced are also extremely expensive.

Full carbon bike rack

Full carbon body Pagani Zonda R super sports car

The carbon fiber pattern of Zaga Cinques is completely modified without car paint.

A carbon fiber component that feels like plastic and has the strength and toughness of steel. It not only helps the car to lose weight, but also becomes a symbol of luxury due to its expensive characteristics. The Italian supercars represented by Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani are very familiar to everyone. In order to pursue lightweight, the manufacturing process is almost no cost, so the large-scale application of carbon fiber components in the car or even the use of carbon fiber materials in the whole vehicle is not a problem.

Carbon fiber automotive components are lightweight

Love and hate carbon fiber

Speaking of love and hate, this is because in the field of Formula 1 racing, the whole car carbon fiber is not a new technology. The fierce competition that counts every second and the increasingly stringent rules of the game force the major teams to pay attention to the application of carbon fiber technology. In addition to the power system, other components can be realized with carbon fiber.

The most embarrassing Senna in the history of racing was also due to the fact that in the accident, the hard carbon fiber component (one said the axle) pierced Senna’s helmet and he died on the spot.

In 2007, Kubica’s shock hit. Time-lapse, the single-shell body that has been precisely calculated and processed can meet the technical requirements of F1 Formula Racing without deformation under extreme impact. Fans who like to watch F1 will definitely remember the more than the 2007 Canadian Kubica racing car. The speed of 300km/h hit the protective wall, the car was bombed into the air and rolled over at the other end of the track. The car was basically shattered, but the cockpit remained intact. The Kubica in the car only sprained the ankle afterwards, but it didn’t even Delay the next match.

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren’s carbon fiber body

The front part is the carbon fiber collapse column.

In the field of civilian vehicles, Mercedes-Benz tried to apply carbon fiber material as a crush zone, first applied to SLR McLaren. The spire-shaped carbon fiber crushing column is woven from a myriad of thick carbon fibers. Although the structure is still extremely hard, it is designed to break into numerous fine pieces in frontal collisions to absorb a large amount of energy. Fragments do not cause harm to people, which is very similar to the principle of crushing automotive tempered glass.

BMW has begun to try the application of full carbon body on small cars.

Just because of the recyclability and repairability of metal materials, the carbon fiber crush column is a one-off product, and its high price makes it currently only used in the super sports car field.

Carbon fiber that everyone can afford

At present, carbon fiber materials are widely used in civilian production vehicles, especially mid-range products. Many manufacturers have also begun to provide small components of carbon fiber materials, such as mirror housings, interior door panels, door handles, gear levers, racing seats, Air kits, etc., as well as carbon fiber modifications such as bellows and intake manifolds that can be installed in the engine compartment in the original position are also available.

Carbon fiber drive shaft

Carbon fiber car seat

Therefore, the application of carbon fiber materials in the automotive field is more and more extensive. It is believed that in the near future, automobile emissions will become more and more “low carbon”, and the automobile itself will become more and more “high carbon”.

by kalumi