Carbon Fiber Knowledge
The latest from the world of advanced composites and carbon fiber technology.
Railway vehicles are heavy by design, and the carbody is the largest single contributor to empty vehicle mass. A conventional steel car body accounts for 35-40 percent of the empty weight of a metro or commuter train, with components such as roofs, side walls, floor structures, and end
Toray Carbon Fibers Europe is completing one of the most significant capacity developments on the continent in recent years: the expansion of its Abidos, France, plant from 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes of annual carbon fiber output, backed by a new production line covering T300 standard-modulu
On 28 June 2026, China's largest PAN-based carbon fiber producer, Zhongfu Shenying, started up three new production lines at its Lianyungang base in Jiangsu Province, in a single commissioning event that compressed years of conventional capacity growth into one morning. The three lines
Mexico has become the Americas' most active destination for nearshored manufacturing, and its carbon fiber market is growing on the back of that shift. Aerospace investment has concentrated around Querétaro, where multinational OEMs and their Tier 1 suppliers now assemble wing structure
Brazil operates the largest wind power fleet in South America and one of the fastest-growing onshore wind markets in the world, and that build-out is quietly turning the country into a meaningful regional consumer of carbon fiber. The northeast states concentrate nearly all of the count
Thermoplastic overmolding is the manufacturing route that turns carbon fiber from a material problem into a production advantage. Instead of molding a structural part and then fastening or bonding brackets, ribs, flanges, and housings onto it, the entire assembly is made in one mold cyc
Cryogenic machining of composites is the answer to a persistent production problem: trimming, milling, and drilling cured carbon fiber parts without damaging the edge. Conventional machining of CFRP has no shortage of effort — hardened carbide and diamond-coated tools, high-speed spindl
Laser processing of CFRP has moved from laboratory curiosity to production trimming because it offers what mechanical routers cannot: non-contact cutting with no tool wear, high traverse speeds, and the ability to follow complex digital toolpaths without fixturing changes. Aerospace, au
Racing yachts are won by fractions of a knot and tens of kilograms. The hull is the largest single component, so the material that builds it has an outsized influence on speed. Carbon fiber has become the only serious choice for the highest tier of sailing because it delivers a combinat