What Are The Types Of Carbon Fiber?

In 1959, the United Carbide Corporation produced carbon fiber with a modulus of 40GPa and a strength of 0.7GPa, which opened a new era of carbon fiber. With the continuous deepening of research, various specifications and models of carbon fibers have been developed, with a wide variety. In this article, I will talk about the types of carbon fiber.

According to different manufacturing materials, it can be divided into polyacrylonitrile -based carbon fiber, pitch-based carbon fiber and viscose-based carbon fiber.

The vast majority are PAN-based carbon fibers. Among the 85 large-scale carbon fiber production companies in the world, there are 9 companies that use PAN as raw material to produce carbon fiber, including Japan’s Toray, Toho Tenax, and Mitsubishi Rayon, and the United States’ Zoltek, Hexel, and Sutec. , Aldira, SGL in Germany and Formosa Plastics in Taiwan. PAN-based carbon fiber is divided into two types: small tow and large tow according to the size of the tow. Small tow refers to carbon fibers with fiber tows between 1-24K , which are mostly used in high-end technical fields; large tow carbon fiber refers to carbon fibers with a tow number of 48K and above, and its performance is low. As a general-purpose fiber, it is mainly used in civil and general industries.

According To Raw Materials And Manufacturing Process

Carbon fiber can be divided into two categories according to raw materials and manufacturing processes: organic precursor method and vapor growth method carbon fiber. Among them, carbon fiber prepared by organic precursor method can be subdivided into viscose-based, polyacrylonitrile-based, Pitch-based, phenolic-based carbon and graphite fibers. The most commonly used one we see is polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fiber.

According To The Heat Treatment Temperature And Atmosphere Medium

Carbon fiber is divided into carbon fiber (800~1500℃; N2, H2), graphite fiber (2000~3000℃, N2 or Ar) and activated carbon fiber (700~1000℃; water vapor or CO2+N2) according to the CNC Machining temperature and atmosphere medium. Several kinds. In Japan and Western Europe, carbon fiber and graphite fiber are collectively called carbon fiber. China and the United States will subdivide them based on different heat treatment temperatures.

According To Mechanical Properties

Carbon fiber can be divided into two categories according to its mechanical properties: general grade (GP) and high performance (HP). General grade (GP) carbon fiber usually refers to carbon fiber products with tensile strength <1.2GPa; tensile modulus <50GPa; high performance (HP) carbon fiber is subdivided into standard types (such as Japan Toray T-300 brand, tensile Strength 3.53GPa9 tensile modulus 230GPa), high-strength type (tensile strength ≥ 4.00GPa), high model (tensile modulus ≥ 390GPa) and high-strength high model (such as Japanese MJ series varieties, tensile strength 3.92~4.41GPa, Tensile modulus 377 ~ 588GPa) and other varieties. High-Strength and High-Models in High-Performance (HP) Carbon Fiber is a very valuable material in aerospace parts industries.

According To Product Form

According to the product form, carbon fiber can be divided into filaments (including bundles and single yarns with different numbers of holes), bundle short fibers, ultra-fine short fibers (containing whiskers by gas phase method); fabrics (cloth, belts, ropes), and braided products. (Three-way and multi-way fabrics, cylindrical tubes, etc.) as well as various forms of carbon (graphite) fiber and fabrics such as weftless fabric, non-woven fabric, felt, paper, etc. The performance of filament carbon fiber is better than that of several other types, so the production process of continuous carbon fiber reinforcement is also the most difficult to achieve.

Understanding these four classification methods of carbon fiber can help us improve our basic understanding of carbon fiber materials, and companies can have more choices when choosing to purchase carbon fiber products.

According to the mechanical properties of carbon fiber and can be divided into general-purpose and high-performance. The strength of general-purpose carbon fiber is 1000MPa and the modulus is about 100GPa. High-performance carbon fiber is divided into high-strength type and high model . With the development of and industry, high-strength and high-elongation carbon fibers have also appeared, and their elongation is greater than 2%.  

There are various types of carbon fibers and a wide range of applications, involving automobiles, high-speed rail, medical equipment, sporting goods and other fields. China Rapid Prototype Material Technology Co., Ltd. relies on integrity and quality to survive, rely on scientific and technological innovation for development, and is highly competitive in the market. It can customize various carbon fiber products according to customers’ drawings.

ISO 9001 certified. BE-CU Prototype Offering CNC machining carbon fiber and other manufacturing services for carbon fiber marterial. Various capabilities include notching, labeling, drilling carbon fiber, grinding, laser cutting carbon fiber, finishing, plating, marking, CNC milling carbon fiber and turning carbon fiber.We stock high quality 3k carbon fiber sheet in a variety of thickness, types and finish. Its a great material used in applications where light weight and strength are needed such as drones. Unlike other workshops, we have no min order and are often filling orders with a single part. We also don’t make you pay for the full sheet and you only get charged for what is used. With a large selection of material, you should find everything you need to make your project come to life. We are also able to handle larger production runs and provide a competitive pricing. If we don’t have the material or finish you require, we are more the willing to look at bringing it in for you.

What Is Carbon Fiber?Carbon fiber is made of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) (or pitch, viscose) and other organic fibers by carbonization (removal of most elements except carbon) by pyrolysis method under inert gas at high temperature above 1,000 °C. Inorganic polymer fibers with a carbon content of more than 90%.