Carbon Fibre Design Guidelines

Factorem
5 min readMar 2, 2021

As we build our knowledge database, we want to share with you all that we know — from design and engineering tips, to manufacturing hardware — , in our mission to #HelpMakersMake. Learn more.

Here is an article written by our engineering team that will guide you through some design considerations for part fabrication using carbon fibre composites. The exceptional mechanical properties of carbon fibre composites make it the material of choice for lightweight and high-performance applications such as aircrafts and race cars. Given it’s excellent mechanical properties, use-cases of carbon fibre and related composites are endless!

What is Carbon Fibre?

Carbon fibre is a polymer and is sometimes known as graphite fibre. It is a very strong yet lightweight material, five-times stronger than steel and twice as stiff. Though carbon fibre is stronger and stiffer than steel, it is lighter than the latter, making it the ideal manufacturing material for many parts that require weight reduction or a high strength to weight ratio.

Carbon fibre is made of thin, strong crystalline filaments of carbon that is used to strengthen material. It can be thinner than a strand of human hair and gets its strength when twisted together like yarn. It can then be woven together to form a cloth and laid over a mould to be coated in resin or plastic before it finally takes the desired shape.

Carbon fibre reinforced polymers are composite materials which rely on the carbon fibre to…

--

--

Factorem

On-demand, one-stop portal to custom manufacturing in Southeast Asia. I www.factorem.co