How to Make Carbon Fiber: A Simple Guide

Qu'est-ce que la fibre de carbone ?

Fibre de carbone is a strong and light material. It is made of thin strands of carbon. These strands are even thinner than a human hair! Carbon fibre (also spelled this way) is used to make cars, bikes, planes, and sports gear.

“Carbon fiber is five times as strong as steel but weighs much less. This makes it perfect for things that need to be both strong and light.” – Engineering Expert

Why Use Carbon Fiber?

Fibre de carbone has many good points:

• It is very strong
• It is very light
• It does not rust
• It can be shaped in many ways
• It looks cool

This is why many people make carbon fiber parts for cars, bikes, and other things.

What You Need to Make Carbon Fiber

To work with fibre de carbone, you need these tools and materials:

Basic Steps to Make Carbon Fiber Parts

1. Plan Your Project

Before you start with fibre de carbone, you need to know what you want to make. Start with simple shapes. Big or hard shapes can be time-consuming.

2. Make or Get a Mold

Le moule is what gives your pièces en fibre de carbone their shape. You can:

• Buy a ready-made moule
• Make one from wood
• Use an old part as your moule

Mettre release wax sur votre moule donc le fibre de carbone will not stick to it.

3. Cut the Carbon Fiber Fabric

Carbon fiber fabric comes in sheets with different tisser types. The most common is a sergé pattern. Cut the fabric to fit your moule plus a bit more around the edges.

4. Mix the Resin

Résine époxy is what makes the fibre de carbone hard and strong. Most résine comes as a two-part mix:

1. Pour part A and part B in a cup
2. Mix well but not too fast (to avoid bulles d'air)
3. Use it soon, as it will start to get hard

Be safe! Wear gloves when you work with résine.

5. Wet the Carbon Fiber

Maintenant vient le pose par voie humide pas :

1. Put your tissu en carbone on a flat spot
2. Use a brush to mouillé the fabric with résine
3. Make sure all the fibre de carbone gets wet
4. Do not use too much résine – just enough to mouillé all the fibre

6. Place on the Mold

Mettez le mouillé fibre de carbone sur votre moule:

1. Start from one end and smooth it down
2. Push out any bulles d'air
3. Add more layers if you need a stronger part
4. Each new layer is part of the layup

7. Remove Extra Resin

Trop résine makes your part heavy and not as strong. Use a plastic tool to push out extra resin.

8. Apply Pressure

You need to compress le fibre de carbone as it dries:

• Utiliser un sac sous vide method
• Or use pince and flat boards
• Or try perfusion sous vide pour les grandes pièces

9. Let It Cure

Now you wait for the résine à guérir:

1. Check your résine box for guérir temps
2. Most take 24 hours at room heat
3. Keep the part still while it cures
4. Some people use chaleur et pression à guérir plus rapide

10. Remove from the Mold

Après le résine is fully hard:

1. Take off any wrap or bags
2. Gently pull the finished part from the moule
3. Trim the rough edges
4. Sand any spots that need to be smooth

Types de fibres de carbone

Pas tous fibre de carbone is the same. Here are the main types:

• PAN (made from polyacrylonitrile)
• Pitch (made from oil)
• Rayonne (moins courant maintenant)

Most home users work with PAN-based fibre de carbone.

Different Ways to Make Carbon Fiber Parts

There are a few main ways to work with fibre de carbone. Here they are, from simple to hard:

Wet Layup

This is what we just went over. It is the most common way for home users to make carbon fiber parts.

Pre-preg Method

Pré-imprégné ou pré-imprégné fibre de carbone est accompagné de résine already in it. It needs to:

1. Stay cold until you use it
2. Be heated to guérir
3. Often needs an autoclave (a big hot oven)

This is how many pro carbon fiber reinforced parts are made.

Infusion sous vide

With this method:

1. The dry carbon fiber fabric is put on the moule
2. It is sealed in a bag
3. Air is sucked out
4. Résine is pulled in to infuse all the fibre

This is good for big parts and can give very strong results.

Making Real Carbon Fiber from Scratch

The steps above show how to work with carbon fiber fabric that is already made. But how does fibre de carbone itself get made? Here is the manufacturing carbon fiber processus :

1. Start with a polymer comme polyacrylonitrile
2. Pull it into thin filament strings
3. Heat these strings at high heat without air
4. This turns the strings into carbone
5. Le carbon fiber starts out as single brin fibres
6. Ce sont woven into a fabric

This needs specialized equipment and is done in factories.

Safety Tips When Working with Carbon Fiber

Working with carbon fiber can be fun but you need to be safe:

• Wear gloves when touching résine
• Wear a mask to avoid breathing poussière de fibre de carbone
• Travailler dans une pièce bien aérée
• Keep food away from your work area
• Clean up spills right away

Projects to Try

If you want to learn how to make carbon parts, start small:

1. A simple flat plate
2. A phone case
3. A small box
4. A bike part

As you get better, you can make more complex pièces en fibre de carbone.

Erreurs courantes à éviter

Many people make these mistakes:

• Using too much résine
• Not getting all bulles d'air dehors
• Being in a rush during guérir temps
• Making a part too thin and weak
• Trying a too complex shape for your skill level

How Carbon Fiber Compares to Other Materials

How does fibre de carbone stack up to other engineering materials?

Where Carbon Fiber Is Used

Carbon fibre is used in many places where a lightweight material is needed:

• Aérospatial parts for planes
• Automobile racing parts
• Articles de sport comme les raquettes de tennis et les clubs de golf
• Bikes and bike parts
• Dispositifs médicaux
• Music equipment

Advanced Carbon Fiber Methods

If you get really into fabrication de fibres de carbone, you might try:

• Using a CNC to make precise molds
• Fabrication haute performance parts with special layup patterns
• Adding other materials to make composite materials
• Using different types of résine comme polyester resin ou thermoset types

Réflexions finales

Making things with fibre de carbone can be fun and rewarding. Start simple, be patient, and soon you’ll be making amazing pièces en fibre de carbone!

Le complexity of the part will decide how hard it is to make. With practice, you can make cost-effective et cool finished product items that are both strong and light.

Vous souhaitez en savoir plus ? Visitez notre composite sur mesure page or check out our guide on comment fabriquer un moule en fibre de carbone.

Ready to start? Get supplies from our usine de carbone or learn more about making your own carbon fiber parts.

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