Announcing New CF-like Material!

[dostacos]

I am only familiar with the stuff we have used in Prosthetics and Orthotics. It did not need to be kept cold but it does need to be vacuformed with heat not a set up for your basic home drydock

[Quicksilver]

What? find a hunk of a B2 bomber somewhere?

Give it name!

[Meniscus]

OK,

I'm gonna name it something sooner than later, but here's some more info:

With regards to thickness, in the picture, the material is 1.8mm to 1.9mm thick.
UB, the material is stiff, but is flexible (rigid, but not rock solid brittle).
The material is high resin (30% range or so).
The material gets pressed and does conform around edges fairly easily.

Last, any size over 48 inches in any direction has to be outsourced to another press that could be more $$$.

Next week I will discuss more specifics and get the weight by sq. inch if I can.

Any other questions you want answered while I'm at it?

[Ocean Racer]

Any updates on the material?

[Meniscus]

OK, I'm getting some more info now...

Here's the bottom line, it is heavier than carbon fiber. However, this material is not brittle. Think of it this way, the material is strong and rigid, but will not shatter when bent to extremes. The other difference is that has been proven to work great for any impact environment and out-performs CF, even with kevlar backing when it comes to impact.

I should have all kinds of specs on Monday from the engineering guys.
And to answer the previous question, this material can be molded to just about an

[Meniscus]

Well, this thread is dying, for all of those that were interested, I am still actively engaged and tracking. However, the company that has this material is inundated with other business with the Government.

As soon as I have an update, I will post.

[AndyKunz]

There are fake CF's sold on ebay. The homebuilt aircraft crowd (full size) found out about it and started using it, only to find it's way inferior. Hopefully that's not what this is, but it's something to be aware of if you buy "CF" from ebay.

Link to more info:

http://www.wicksaircraft.com/Wicks/Pages/FRONT_PAGE/Phoney_Carbon_Fiber.php

NOTE: This isn't saying anything about your material. It's probably a great item for bulletproof vests. This is just intended as a warning against buying ebay CF.

Andy

[Meniscus]

Andy,

Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention. All of us here appreciate your input and will take this caution to heart. I too have seen some of this material on Ebay, but haven't thought much of it.

The material that is being discussed in this thread is a little different. While it is not CF and doesn't claim to be, it may have applications for us FE guys.

Thanks for the comments.