Carbon Fiber Knowledge
The latest from the world of advanced composites and carbon fiber technology.
Two materials dominate the modern airframe material conversation. The first is the fiber metal laminate (FML) family, led by GLARE — alternating layers of thin aluminum sheet and unidirectional glass-fiber prepreg — proven since 2007 as the upper fuselage skin of the Airbus A380. The se
Carbon fiber composites are excellent to use and difficult to cut. The same properties that make a carbon fiber plate strong — hard, abrasive fibers embedded in a tough resin matrix — also make it destructive to conventional tooling. A CNC router cutting carbon fiber wears its carbide o
In aerospace assembly, carbon fiber parts are rarely finished when they leave the autoclave. They must be drilled, countersunk, and bolted together to form wings, fuselage panels, and control surfaces — and every drilled hole is a potential defect site. Delamination, the separation of p
Carbon fiber structures are prized for their strength-to-weight ratio, but when a laminate suffers impact damage, a barely visible delamination can grow into a flight-critical defect. Bolted patch repairs add weight and introduce new stress concentrations, which defeats the purpose of a
Industrial rollers — the long, hollow cylinders over which film, paper, packaging, and coated substrates travel — are among the most common wear and weight items in continuous web processing. On a wide film line, a steel or aluminum roll several meters long can sag under its own weight,
The car body is the primary structure of every passenger train. It carries passenger mass, transfers structural load, and in a collision it is the first line of defense between the occupants and the impact. It is also heavy: on a typical metro or intercity train the body accounts for ro
In 2025, carbon fiber battery enclosures accounted for roughly 40% of all carbon fiber used in automotive applications, and the segment is growing at a compound annual rate of 16.2%. The reason is straightforward: a carbon fiber enclosure weighs 30-40% less than an equivalent aluminum s
The Czech Republic occupies a distinctive position in European manufacturing. It produces more cars per capita than almost any other country, hosts one of Europe's longest-running aircraft manufacturers, and graduates a steady stream of engineers from the continent's oldest technical un
Carbon fiber is one of the most strategically traded materials in advanced manufacturing, and its trade has been pulled directly into the US-China tariff and trade-remedy cycle. In 2026 the picture has tightened further: reported anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases on Chinese adv