Carbon fibre joins the 3D printing revolution

For many years now, the words ‘carbon fibre’ have virtually been a shorthand for cutting edge material usage, quality, strength and light weight. These properties have meant that carbon fibre composite parts have been extremely popular in aerospace, high-end automotive, motorsport and other prestigious applications. 

However, the nature of these applications also highlights the major issue with carbon fibre – namely its expense. The reason it is largely used in high-end applications is that only they can afford it.

Someone who had first-hand experience of the difficulties posed by carbon fibre was Greg Mark, who co-owns Aeromotions, a company that builds computer-controlled racecar wings. To make those wings both strong and lightweight, it uses carbon fibre. Here, though, the problem is that making custom parts out of carbon fibre is extremely challenging, costly and time-consuming.

Source: EurekaMagazine.uk