Japanese automaker says it has created a new way to speed up the development of car parts made from carbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CFRP) by up to 80%, making it possible to mass-produce strong, lightweight components for more cars.
While the benefits of carbon fibre have long been known, production costs can be up to 10 times more than that of traditional materials, and difficulty in shaping CFRP parts has hampered the mass production of automotive components made from the material.
It has found a new approach to the existing production method: compression resin transfer moulding. The existing method involves forming carbon fibre into the right shape and setting it in a die with a slight gap between the upper die and the carbon fibres. Resin is then injected into the fibre and left to harden.
We hope this new carbon fibre parts production process will be widely used shortly.
