Where has all the carbon fiber gone? Options

[BlackCelicaGT94]

I was looking on a site that sells carbon fiber and thought this was pretty interesting...

WHERE IS THE CARBON

If you have been looking for carbon fiber you have probably noticed that it is hard to find. Where did it go? Well, believe it or not, there has been a worldwide shortage of carbon fiber because it is being bought by three main users faster than it can be produced

The first is the military.
Since carbon is up to 100 times lighter than some metals, it is ideal for aircraft. The F-22 Raptor has over 350 carbon/epoxy parts. Nearly 1/3 of the Joint Strike Fighter Plane will be made of carbon and fiberglass.
Besides these two aircraft, carbon is also used for Blackhawk helicopters, body armor, helmets, holsters, and countless other military applications. These applications are on top of the already huge use of carbon in stealth technology.


The second big buyer of carbon is the Airbus company.
The Airbus Superjumbo A 380 and A350 are built with a great deal of carbon fiber. The A 380 is due to be released this year, so they are still in the production stages. This plane is huge. Note the double row of windows along the whole length of the plane. It will hold 850 passengers and has a wingspan greater than the length of a football field!

The third buyer is Boeing.
They are making the 787 Dreamliner. It is 50% carbon fiber and is so light that it will be able to fly from England to Austrailia without refueling. It is just now being built and is expected to fly in 2008.
So, with these huge buyers out there, finding carbon fiber is harder than ever. Many suppliers on the web are showing “Out of Stock” for all their carbon. We were able to obtain some or a period of time, but now even we must admit, we are “Out of Stock.”
So what is a high performance composite fabricator to do? Consider using S-2 glass. S-2 glass is a high performance fabric that was developed originally for military applications. It is 30% stronger and 15% stiffer than E-glass. It comes 30” wide in two weights: 3.7 oz. and 5.6oz. On of the big advantages of S-2 glass is that it is compatible with both polyester and epoxy resins, unlike carbon. At a fraction of the cost of carbon, this might be the solution you are looking for! Give it a try.
When will carbon be plentiful again? We don’t know. The industry is building new production plants to meet this demand; however the first plant is not expected to be completed until 2007. So this shortage could be with us a while. In the mean time, keep checking our website for the latest developments.

[My2Celi]

great! no wonder it was hard to find. i was looking for cf for this whole week and it was hard to find ppl with good pricing that has it in stock. well that explains it. thanks for the info. nerd... jp The war and military is really kickin our ass. If only world peace could happen.

This post has been edited by My2Celi: Sep 27, 2006 - 11:56 AM

[LewFX]

this is sort of old news, maybe 2 years old, ever since the prices of CF hoods have slowly been going up in price.

[BlackCelicaGT94]

If ur looking for some try Tap Plastic

http://tapplastics.com/
1-800-246-5055

this is sort of old news, maybe 2 years old, ever since the prices of CF hoods have slowly been going up in price.

Im not into that whole CF thing - not a fan of the look so Its new news to me

[My2Celi]

I just bought another trd replica wing and all i want to do is cf the middle part. The cheapest i found for a real cf wrap is around 60-100 bucks. know any cheaper sites?

[eggman40]

Im glad i bought my hood when i did, i bought it from boosted for $425 now ive seen in on a site for $610!!!
thats crazy!!! My friend broke the seibon lip on his s2000 (tire on the road) last year and still cannot find a replacement one

This post has been edited by eggman40: Sep 27, 2006 - 10:33 PM

[coldbluesteel]

Yep the military uses tons of the stuff. I have a roll in my shop that's like 5 feet wide and 100 feet long maybe more. I work on the airframes (structure) of the av8b Harrier.

[My2Celi]

Yep the military uses tons of the stuff. I have a roll in my shop that's like 5 feet wide and 100 feet long maybe more. I work on the airframes (structure) of the av8b Harrier.

are u willing to sell any to me?

[forkee]

can't u just open new factories to make more? or increase production? there really should not be a shortage. thats like saying theres a shortage of metal because we're making too many cars.

[Bitter]

CF isnt that easy to make, only a few companies are setup to make it and its expensive to make the machines to make it.

[playr158]

yea the shortage sucks...prices are rediculously high although i have a few supppliers that still hold stock so i can fill my needs